Psychic Watcher
by Winxclubrocks
Summary: An elf from Aedyr with a past she'd like to leave behind, Cera's plans of settling down are thrown into utter chaos after an attack on Odema's Caravan. Will she find a way to make peace with her ancient past? Or will all her past, ancient and recent, catch up with her? Loosely inspired by 'a Cipher in the Works of Gods'. Don't own anything. Rated T for safety.
1. Prologue

**AN: Alright, first time trying out a fanfiction about a game. the Watcher is named Cera, she's a Cipher. Other than that, find out later in the story - trust me, it'll make sense, I promise. Anything else will be a spoiler. Also, I wasn't entirely sure what a Cipher may and may not pick up on - mental powers, I know the fighting abilities and all, but what about everywhere else? I might've made some stuff up, but it makes sense enough - at least, from what I can imagine about people with the mental ability to read others' minds and such. Some info about her: she's an elf, short, choppy brown hair, and I happen to like pink so she wears clothes dyed in hot pink and the darker pink.**

* * *

Cera sits up in the cart, woozy and feeling like she might throw up even now. She's been sick all day, wasn't feeling all that wonderful the day before, and hasn't eaten anything for the past day - lovely, truly.

 _Well, nobody ever said traveling would be easy. And it's still better than back home._

Calisca whips her head around at the sound of her clambering out of the cart, and says "We've stopped for the night - giant tree login the way. We'll be moving it tomorrow though. Few words of warning from Odema: don't go in the ruins, don't wander off, and don't provoke any hut-dwellers."

Cera nods, eying the ominous looking ruins behind the strange rocks she now knows are called Adra. "Wasn't planning on going somewhere dark, creepy-looking, and likely full of spiders and gods-know-what-else."

"Good call. Odema still thinks it's the Rumbling Rot you've got. Says there's supposed to be these berries growing all over these parts, Springberries he said, make a tea with them that helps with some of the symptoms."

"Like the vomiting? I'll drink a whole barrel if it'll help. Have any of these berries?"

"No, but c'mon, they've got to grow nearby. We can refill the water skins as well."

"Sounds great. Didn't mean to get sick and be a burden or anything."

She can feel the minds of the rest of the caravan, a quiet hum against the total silence of the night - soothing, steady. The total silence of being completely alone for miles in unnerving, if a welcome respite from cities and tense situations that only get tenser when you can feel the person's mind and their own tension as well as your own. The unending clamor of a dense city could well drive you mad after a while, unless you know how to shield yourself, but this is a good balance between the two. Calm, relaxed, and peaceful - and given the fact that she tends to pick up on people's thoughts and feelings so easily, its exactly what she needs right now.

* * *

They find Springberries soon enough, along with a wolf that growls at them menacingly. Calisca readies her weapon, but Cera says "Wait, it's just trying to survive like the rest of us out here."

"So you want me to let it kill us both?!"

"No, but lower your weapon for a moment. Feel free to bring it back up if this doesn't work though." She stares at the wolf for a moment, and then it stops growling and calmly walks away past them and into the woods.

"How did you just do that?!"

"One of my skills. Nothing too hard." Cera shrugs, feeling uncomfortably warm with her fever burning her up from the inside.

"You're a Cipher then."

"Yeah, good guess. Not something I talk about much."

"You don't talk much about yourself at all, really."

Cera shrugs and asks "How many of these do we need?"

"I dunno, twenty? We figured out you're Aedyran from your accent, but other than that you're a mystery to everyone."

"Just another Aedyran elf is all. Nobody special, except for the part where I can read minds."

Calisca snorts and says "And spring a lock. Such as when Odema accidentally left the key to the wagon in the lockbox and lost the key to the lockbox somewhere in the wagon." They both laugh a little at the memory, which turns into a cough for Cera. "Alright, let's get you to the river. Water's gotta help even a little, berries in it or no."

* * *

It does help, actually, clearing out some of the fuzz from her mind - and then she feels something, a disturbance in the steady mental rhythm of the camp. It's agitated and alarmed, and between that and the fever and sickness, it's all a little too much for Cera. She falls to her knees, one hand on her head - and then they both hear something _swish_ over her head. An arrow buries itself feet behind her, it would've gone right through her head had she still been standing.

A warrior in mismatched skins stitched together comes out from the trees, holding a carved bow and quiver in her hands - Cera's faster with her crossbow though, purple fire igniting automatically as she aims and fires her bolt straight into the woman's heart. She turns around to find Calisca fighting a Glanfathan man - it's a stalemate, right up until he suddenly gets a crossbow face to the face. "We've got to get back to camp!"

They get there, the two Glanfathans waiting for them somehow getting knocked down and Calisca finishes them off, only to find nearly everyone dead. Only Heodan is still alive, and the guy that must be the leader of these kith is holding a knife to his throat. "Drop your weapons, or this man dies."

Cera can see they don't really have a choice in the matter - from the Glanfathans' perspectives, anyway. "Why are you doing this? We've done nothing but set up camp for the night!"

"Your words carry no weight when I have seen the truth with my own eyes. We have seen the footprints, heard the footfalls. Now you will answer for your trespass."

It must be the fever messing with her mind, because Cera asks "You heard people inside the ruins, so you came out here and killed everyone that _wasn't_ in them?"

All the Glanfathans look at each other in bewilderment, and Cera focuses on the leader through the sick fever-haze in her head. In the confusion of Cera's point - her amazingly good point apparently - it's not hard to do this, despite the fact that Cera would _never_ do this under normal circumstances. The Glanfathan leader suddenly stabs himself in the heart, just as Cera shoots a crossbow bolt into the archer that's backing him up.

Heodan stumbles away from the dying Glanfathan, just as a wisp of wind starts stirring. Odema, apparently, isn't actually dead yet - he yells "Get inside! RUN!"

The wind picks up, feeling like it's trying to rip them all apart from the inside out - they just make it into the ruins, and Cera looks back to see lights shining in the ex-campsite and an indescribable sound ringing in her ears. They get deeper inside, as the entranceway collapses, and Calisca says "Good thing you can do stuff like that - but what in the world made you ask them _that_ question? Because, honestly, the looks on their faces were pretty hilarious."

"First thing that popped into my mind. It did give me enough of a distraction though."

Heodan asks "You made him stab himself?"

"Yep. Pretty good aim to. I don't usually do it - like, ever, that was the first time I've ever done that - but I practiced the skill for situations exactly like that."

Heodan says "Much appreciated. Let's get out of here before more Glanfathans show up and find we actually are trespassing in their ruins."

Cera says "They said people were in here, so not what we need right now."

Calisca nods, and they set off in a random direction - and find a makeshift camp, perfect. There's nobody there though, so they take all the camping supplies they can find - screw these people, they got the honest caravaneers killed - and head off in the opposite direction to find the exit somewhere.

They find it alright, after a few hours of making their way through Engwithan traps and such. And then, they get outside only to find a group of robed strangers and a machine. Three have just the robes, the fourth person looks like they're made of ash or stone, and the fifth man has on one creepy headdress-mask combination that has large wings jutting from the sides like he's about to take off in flight and be pulled around by his head - wow, she really needs some sleep because she's starting to think she's seen this guy somewhere before.

The three of them crouch down, well hidden from their sights, and listen to one weird speech about a queen-that-was, an oath, a book, and a key of some sort. The last thing Cera hears before an awful whirling sound starts up is a word she has never heard before. Then, there's the feeling of an intense wind ripping at them and Cera blacks out with a throbbing pain in her head like someone hit her over the back of it.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, hope this isn't too bad, everyone! First attempt at a fanfiction based on a story, so please don't be too harsh! Timings for quests and such might be a little messed-up or won't make much sense - sorry about that, really! But when your on the clock to find people before you go insane with visions of a past life, well, things tend to get a little messed-up. I'll really try to give some reasonable explanations, I really will, so hopefully nobody gets too angry at me or anything. Really into PoE, can't wait for the Deadfire sequel - currently trying to get an optimal character to upload. Anyways, please review! I promise you'll find out more about Cera's mysterious background next chapter if you all want me to keep posting! Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 1

Cera walks into Gilded Vale exhausted, dirty, and on her wits end with the nonstop whispers and seriously unsettling visions. Her hand keeps twitching reflexively towards her trusty crossbow, and she barely manages to stifle a yawn as she makes her way through a few kith, mumbling apologies as she bumps into them.

Of course, then she seriously considers turning around and heading right back into the Valewood when she sees the monstrosity of a tree with many kith of all kinds hanging from it. The number keeps changing as she tries multiple times to count it, but she finally decides that there must be around twenty bodies hanging from that horrible tree.

 _First the Glanfathans, now this place. Where exactly have I come to? But I can't go back to Aedyr, not to my family._

In truth, she is completely ashamed of her family - and the feelings are mutual. They consider her to be an embarrassment, as she was never interested in politics or being 'noble' like they thought it meant. She, in turn, steadily grew ashamed that everyone else was more worried about how fancy their clothes were than whether or not they could take care of themselves. The fact that she could read their minds since she was five helped her feelings of shame grow all the more - she could tell that they thought it made her a freak, and that if they could control her it would be a very big asset to them.

She refused to be their tool though, refused to dress up and play the game by their rules because she'd never be anything but another tool to further their own fortune. When she taught herself how to pick a lock, her mother was horrified, her father furious, and they took away her practicing wires. When she proved to be a dead shot with her crossbow, she quickly explained that she wanted to join the hunts and such - otherwise she'd never be allowed near another arrow, much less the weapon. And that was without anybody seeing the bolts of the crossbow covered in purple flames, the ones she generated just by focusing on her target.

Her Cipher abilities, or Brîshalgwin in Eir Glanfath, started showing when she very young, a sign that she was extremely powerful and gifted. And she basically taught herself everything she knows how to do. She started with reading the servant's thoughts, getting practice for reading her parents'. With controlling kith, well, she's never really liked to force somebody to do something - last resort only, life-and-death situations exclusively. But she did it to rats and spiders that she found, because every skill available to her is useful at some point. She started seeing the places objects had been soon enough, and some of the weapons in the guardhouse had some _violent_ histories to them - not that she expected anything else, they were _weapons._

It all finally came to a head when she spurned every suitor they attempted to pair her with after reading their minds and finding them entirely wrong for her, and before they could cast her out she left. Took a bag of supplies and left.

She forces herself out of her thoughts, the story is done and over with, and starts further into town - she's feeling like she's about to drop dead and sleep for a week, and this place must have an inn somewhere.

A thin, bony man comes up and says "You must be one of the new settlers. Welcome to Gilded Vale. I'm the Magistrate, Urgeat, and you'll be pleased to hear we've had some…recent vacancies." He looks at the monstrous tree behind him, then adds "The inestimable Lord Raedric VII has taken great pains to insulate the town from Waidwen's Legacy. Have you ever conceived a Hollowborn Child?"

Cera's mouth may be hanging open, but she's not entirely sure - she's too busy processing the shock of how this guy just bluntly asked if she's ever had a kid. That and this 'Hollowborn' thing.

 _Calisca said kith were having trouble giving birth…_

Finally, she asks "A what? I've never heard of that before."

There's a thick condescending tone in his voice as he says "A child born without a soul, of course. Pitiful, dumb things that breathe, barely, but do not truly live. The problem started soon after Waidwen claimed to be Eothas, and so the name stuck." Urgeat's voice turned suddenly vicious, like the mention of this Waidwen sparked a bit of life in him.

"I see…is there anywhere I can rest? I've been on the road, and-"

"At the moment, I can't provide any permanent accommodations, as the Lord's wife is with child and due any day now. I'm afraid the interview will have to wait until after the birth. Until then, the inn has rooms. Or the stable for all I care."

Cera doesn't even need to look in his mind to know that this guy sees her in utter contempt and wouldn't care if she got murdered in a back alley around the corner. Three bells suddenly toll, and kith immediately huddle up and start whispering to each other.

 _No…no…things'll only get worse…_

 _Raedric is going to hang everyone for this…_

 _Is his child Hollowborn as well?_

 _We're all doomed…_

The thoughts are suddenly swarming her, hasty, hurried, and unpleasantly miserable - she's likely better off just staying in the inn and not showing her face until she leaves.

Urgeat tells her that things have literally just changed a great deal with the three bell tolls, as they only toll three times for the death of a Raedric, and that she should be very careful. She gets the distinct feeling that she could well end up hanging from that tree very soon if she doesn't get out of here fast - but she needs to sleep, her whole body is screaming for it from her pounding head to her aching feet. She walked literally a whole day from the ruins to here, and she needs a hot meal and somewhere to sleep that isn't the ground - the ground would work though, honestly.

When she finally finds the inn, as Urgeat gave her no directions, she finds the first sign of real life in the place - unfortunately, it's a heated argument. Three figures that are swaying drunkenly are crowded around a slim figure in a hood, one who's smooth voice says "I meant no offense. Let's settle this with another round, shall we? My treat." He's got a strong Aedyran accent, and judging from his stature he's more than likely an elf.

The woman, who's clearly as drunk as it gets, says "Hoping to soothe our pride with a few Aedyre copperes, eh? We don't need your coin!"

The bigger man, who's clearly the leader and every bit as drunk as the other two, says "Go ahead, say it again. I'm itching for an excuse."

The hooded elf suddenly says "Fye your itchin' for the kindling touch of your sister, ye coxfither!" All three gasp, and Cera immediately knows something's up - the words came from the hooded elf, but everything about them was different. Tone, inflections, accent, even the sound of his voice - like it came from another person's mouth entirely.

"I'll cut that barrel-licking tongue outta your head!" The leader's hand drops to his knife, and Cera decides right then and there that _enough is enough._ This is literally the last thing her frayed nerves can handle at the moment, between the nonstop whispers and the fact that she walked all the way here from the ruins, she's ready to sleep for a week.

She connects with their minds, instantly calming them down and making them highly susceptible to suggestions - particularly her suggestions. She then marches over, getting between them and the hooded elf, and says "You've all had too much to drink. Go home, sleep it off. Remember none of this."

They all mutely nod, and then obediently stumble away in what must be the directions of their homes. Given the fact that they reeked of awful beer, it wasn't too hard to get them to do what she wanted. She didn't control them, just planted the suggestion of going home and passing out in their beds in their minds. That's what she tells herself anyway, trying to rid herself of the lingering guilt.

 _If they got into a fight, they'd likely drag anyone around them into it and have killed this guy along with them. Nobody was hurt, after all._

She pulls out of her thoughts when the man she just saved says "Thank you for your assistance with that…awkward situation. However you just helped. Aloth Corfiser, at your service."

"Your welcome. I'm Cera." She looks away from him after a second, just over his shoulder she can see a woman inside his body, for some reason. It's very disconcerting. She's walked through kith chained to racks, tied to posts with piles of wood tented around the base, and tried to ignore endless whispers that she can't make out - all sound in a range of pleading, accusatory, and convincing. It's maddening, she must be going insane.

"You don't look well, Cera."

She looks at Aloth again, and is immensely relieved to see he's solid once again. "Funny thing, I don't feel all that great either. I've been walking through the woods for…a day I think. Not a few hours either, a day straight. Before that, I was traveling with a caravan here but we got attacked by…Odema called them 'hut-dwellers' but I think that'd offend kith here. Is this the inn?"

"Yes, it is. And I think anything will offend these kith. Let me buy you a meal, as better thanks for getting rid of those three."

Cera nods gratefully, and says "Lead the way, Aloth."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Aloth's watching Cera eat like she really hasn't had food in at least a whole day.

Between mouthfuls of food, she told him how she got sick with something called the Rumbling Rot on her way here and how she couldn't keep anything down for most of the day before they were attacked by Glanfathans and she was forced to go through some ruins after escaping a Biawac. So she hasn't actually had food in at least two days.

And he noticed she keeps looking around, and pointedly going back to her food at times.

And she apparently saved the cook from bandits, so she's a favorite of the house.

"So, mind telling me how you got those three drunks to leave back there?"

She looks at him warily, then mumbles "It was nothing…"

"It was impressive, that's what it was. From what I've seen of them, they drink until they pass out and were already too far gone to even hear reason. Yet somehow you managed to get them heading home in mere moments. I'm curious, I don't know of any spell such as that, and you don't carry a grimoire and didn't say an incantation."

She studies him for a moment, then says "Just don't start calling me a freak or report me to the guy who decorated that tree."

Aloth has to suppress some laughter at that, and says "Never. You saved my skin, after all. Speaking of which, how would you like to travel with me? I can bet your looking to head out of here, and I find it's better to travel in numbers."

"Done. Though you might reconsider that offer when you hear my story."

He's seriously thinking that's an impossibility. She saved him from a beating and likely much worse - no thanks to Iselmyr.

She quickly looks around, then quietly asks "You know about Ciphers? Or Brîshalgwin, as they're called here?"

"Yes, a kind of Glanfathan warrior. They're supposed to use their minds to fuel their powers."

"Right. And that's what I do. I'm a Cipher. I might've just put the suggestion of heading home in their heads earlier."

"Ah, that explains it. I'd say you seem like a powerful one, but I'm afraid I don't know much about Ciphers myself."

He can see the faint blush that shows in her cheeks for a moment, and then she clears her throat and says "I am. That's what everybody says, at any rate. It just started happening when I was young. And, I'm talking very young, about knee-high. Maybe younger."

Aloth's eyebrows rise into his hair, that would make her very powerful.

"I don't normally do stuff like earlier on kith, but…"

"But they'd have possibly dragged the whole time into their fight. I'm not criticizing."

Her eyes suddenly widen in horror at something behind him, and she says "I think I'm going to turn in. Thank you for the company, we'll figure somewhere to go in the morning."

He nods, and looks back when she heads up the stairs.

There's nothing there, though.

And she was practically running.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, now we have some background for Cera! I sort of combined two of the choices for Aristocrat into one for Cera's background. And I got the inspiration for Cera's powers from the Cipher you talk to in Dunryd Row, how he says your character's abilities - if they're a Cipher - are much stronger than his. And the story in the Cipher Necklace sold in Ondra's Gift, how the mute Cipher was extraordinarily gifted. Think of Cera as a self-taught Cipher. Anyway, enjoy! Hope you all like the story so far! Will include White March, btw.**


	3. Chapter 2

Aloth's watching Cera with some apprehension - she's been staring at the corpse of the dwarf woman for the past five minutes, motionless and by all appearances dead to the world.

She told him she had one very strange dream, the woman calling her 'Watcher' even though she was dead even in the dream. And her breath was awful, apparently. And so now they're out here in the early morning before anyone is even awake yet and she's having a staring contest with a dwarven corpse.

She suddenly blinks and looks around, going pale as she does.

"Are you alright?" He steps closer and puts a hand on her shoulder as she sways, and she nods after a moment.

"Yes. No. Maybe. I'm a Watcher, apparently."

His eyebrows quickly rise into his hair, _that_ was not at all what he was expecting. It certainly explains a few things to. "Well, that is interesting. And I suppose it explains how you survived the Biawac, hm?"

"Yeah…"

She suddenly falls to her knees, and Aloth hears a voice shout "Hey! She alright?!" A man with blonde hair and a short beard comes running over, kneeling down beside the two elves.

Cera's breathing hard, suddenly covered in sweat, and has her eyes squeezed shut like the world is spinning around her.

"Hey, listen. Talk to me. What's your name?"

"Ce…ra…"

"Okay, Cera. Nice name. Don't pass out on us here, Cera." He looks over at Aloth, and says "Maybe moving her away from this tree might help."

Aloth wrinkles his nose and says "Definitely. Any suggestions…"

"Edér. Name's Edér. Yours?"

"Aloth." He gets one of her arms around his shoulders, and they both pull Cera to her feet - she stumbles, pressing her free hand to her head, but she doesn't pass out or anything.

They head over to the old temple, and get her sitting on one of the larger stones with her head in her hands. She's starting to recover now, and Aloth lets out a relieved sigh when she looks up at him and Edér.

Cera tries to stand up, but Aloth and the human she thinks is called Edér are fast enough to catch her before she hits the ground from another wave of dizziness. "Okay, bad idea…"

Aloth eases her back onto the stone, and says "Stay there for a moment, Cera. Start from the beginning. Preferably at the part about what you said before."

Edér quietly says "I heard something about a Watcher. Best to keep that quiet if it's true. Ciphers, Animancers, Watchers, all the same thing to people around here."

The two elves share a glance, and Cera mutters "Wonderful. Really."

"Hm, now I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not Nineteen after all."

They both give him blank looks, until he angles his head at the tree they left. Aloth's expression turns disgusted, and he asks "Is that what you people do for fun around here?"

"Not me, but the townies have no problem doing the pointing when Raedric's men come. And they're likely looking at me next."

Cera looks at him for a minute, then simply asks "Want to leave town before they come looking for you? Aloth and I already planned on leaving soon enough."

Aloth grins ruefully, and says "We've no desire to end up like those others."

Edér considers it seriously, these two are probably the only ones here who don't want him hanging from the tree. That's it, he's going with them. Crazy Watcher or not, they won't hang him. "Alright, where're you headed?"

Aloth looks at Cera, who says "An old keep near here, called Caed Nua. It's beyond the Black Meadow, an old Watcher named Maerwald lives there. Maybe…maybe he could tell me just what's going on with me." She glances behind Edér and sees another person tied to a post with firewood tented around the base - and this time there's a fire to go with.

She quickly looks back at him, as he says "That's a little over a day away from town, we'll need some supplies first. Tuatanu makes good armor and weapons, Pasca can sell us some food and such. We're outta luck on the grain though, the crops are failing and what the mill can make from them is not something I'd put in my mouth at any point in my life. Yet some folks think Trumbel's hiding some secret stash in the mill for himself, idiots. Bad crops are bad crops, no way around it. It's mostly the drunks that are at it."

Aloth lets out a humorless laugh and says "Figures."

Cera thinks for a moment, then says "Alright, we'll leave tomorrow then. We'll get some supplies, and head off in the morning."

Edér suddenly gets a gleam in his eye, and says "Wait, I remember something about this Maerwald fellow. He was real famous years ago, helped people with all sorts of stuff. 'Course, that was when you didn't have to say the word with a hush on your breath."

 _Maybe he could tell me about Woden!_

Cera sees the sudden gleam in his eye, how Edér suddenly stands up slightly straighter and has a determined look in his face - looks like he's coming with even if she didn't want him to, good thing she'll welcome all the company she can get.

They end up clearing the ruined temple of shades and spirits - along with Skuldur and spiders - getting a bunch of dead priests' bones up to Wirtan and confronting him - he goes to make amends - sorting out the situation with Trumbel and the drunk villagers, and agreeing to help Aufra and find Tuatanu's missing shipment of goods.

In one day.

Going to Anslog's Compass and the Black Meadow will take another few days, and then there's actually getting to Caed Nua. Either way, it's going to be an eventful few days.

Here's hoping she doesn't pass out at any point during them.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, I know. A lot shorter than the last chapter - relax, if anybody's actually reading this. Will add in more background and details for Cera in future chapters! If anybody's actually reading this story - its currently got ten views in three days, dismally low compared to all my others - please review! Maybe tell your friends to! Anyway, enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 3

Cera lets go of the psychic energy surrounding her crossbow, and stares dejectedly at Maerwald's corpse. If he was right, then she'll end up as insane and broken as he was. Talking in different voices and constantly arguing with herself - not quite how she wants to go down in history as.

She can feel his soul there, still in this world like the keep is keeping him tethered to this world somehow. She cuts him free, sending him back into the Wheel - hopefully he won't stare too hard or too long at any burning wood in his next life. Two lives that could never be reconciled, the gods are cruel beyond belief if they gave him that kind of lot on purpose. She somehow gets the feeling that Maerwald's soul didn't stay under the Wheel very long before going to its new body after that raider had been killed - what a terrible fate.

The air itself seems lighter though, she's pretty sure something happened when she killed Maerwald in self-defense - she'd _so_ much rather have left him alive, she didn't want to kill him!

When they all get out into the chamber, Aloth talking quietly to himself in two voices mysteriously enough, and the Steward tells them she's the new Lady of Caed Nua. Cera barely has time to register the fact that she now has her own home - far better than Gilded Vale if only because nobody here will hang her for existing - when she suddenly blacks out.

When she comes to, she finds she's on a bedroll and covered by a blanket - out in Caed Nua's grounds, because the place is a total mess - at least that means it hasn't been too long then, right?

She groans and tries to sit up, but gets hit with a wave of dizziness that puts the one from Gilded Vale to utter shame. Strong hands catch her suddenly, and she hears Aloth's voice say "Cera, lay back down. You've been out for a while, it's night now. We were thinking you'd want to head to Defiance Bay tomorrow, seeing as Maerwald pointed us there and all."

She nods her head, then winces and squeezes her eyes shut against another wave that nearly knocks her over. Aloth shifts his hands so he's supporting her more, and says "Good, that's…good. How're you feeling?"

"Dizzy. But…myself. For now, anyway. Tell me I dreamed Maerwald. Please tell me I dreamed that."

Aloth's expression turns grim, and he says "I wish I could. For his fate as well as your own. You didn't though."

"Damn. Well, the one silver lining of this is I now have a place to call home." She cracks the weakest grin she's ever made and jokingly adds "Better than whatever I might've gotten in Gilded Vale to."

Aloth says "With a little work. Anything has to be better than in Gilded Vale. For one, the Steward won't try to hang you. You may want to get some cats however, I've spotted countless mice in the past hour alone. Kana's been talking nonstop about the Endless Paths since she told us about them though. He seems intent on going down there, deadly creatures or otherwise. He's…enthusiastic, at least."

"And good with a blade, to. Don't forget that…" She runs a hand through her choppy hair, and tries to sit up further - Aloth's hand keeps her lying down, probably for the best that she stays down on the ground for now anyway.

"We took stock of all the supplies that were in the keep, not much, nearly all spoiled, rotten, or molded. And so now we've camped out here in the fresh air since the building that was meant to house the Lord or Lady of the Keep and whoever else they wanted to live in the keep had collapsed stairs - the rooms likely aren't much better, honestly."

He sees her see something behind him and close her eyes - she's silently counting numbers, he can tell by the way her lips are moving - and turns to see nothing but the forms of their two sleeping companions. Must be something to do with being Awakened , or a Watcher - maybe both.

Finally, she opens her eyes again and looks at him. "So, this may make me the biggest hypocrite of all time, but are you okay?"

Aloth blinks, he wasn't expecting that whatsoever. "Hm?"

"You were acting…odd. Off. I was going to ask if you were alright before, but then, well…"

"Ah, yes, of course. Just trying to process things. And from what Maerwald said, you have an uncertain future. Which won't be helped by a headache due to sleep deprivation."

"Right…so why are you awake?"

"I heard you stir. Would you like anything?"

Cera shakes her head, and says "I think I'll walk around at least. Get to see my new home before we leave for Defiance Bay." He nods and she gets to her feet before setting off in a random direction. When she's out of view, he suddenly hears Iselmyr's voice in his head.

 _Yer fetching Watcher lass can hold her own, ye stripeling._

He quietly says " You nearly gave us away, Iselmyr. She noticed earlier, the others might've to."

 _Are ye sure tha' would be as bad a thing? If Cera over there knew? If anyone would nye jump to conclusions nor cast us out, it'd be another Awakened soul._

Aloth tries to ignore the idea, being accepted for who he entirely is instead of rejected - he can't quite, and Iselmyr knows it. "It's different for her, worse for her. She'll go as mad as Maerwald if we can't undo this somehow."

 _Ye think I don' know tha', ye stripeling? I've been listening._

"And so has she. Bets are she's suspected something was wrong since that fight you nearly started in Gilded Vale."

 _At least now ye have somewhere to be other than Cythwood and yer auld man._

Aloth seriously wishes she didn't make such good points when she wants to, it's rather annoying at times.

 _Asides, she's a Watcher. She's going to find out about the two o' us eventually, laddie. Better tha' yer the one tha' tells her._

"Must you always use your head when I'd rather you just rushed into something? Like with those drunk farmers, for example?"

 _Pacifying 'em was nye workin' and I'm not about to let yer ninnying drag us both through the scupper!_

"Your interventions usually end up getting us in more trouble than out." He sighs, rubbing his forehead - and then he sees Cera outlined in the moonlight, having climbed one of the watchtowers. _What am I getting myself into?_

 _Laddie, I'd tell ye but ye'd nye believe me._

 _You're sure she won't-_

 _It shakes like this, lad. She'll find out one way or another. How she does is what makes the difference._

* * *

Cera's breathing in the fresh air up at the top of the Watchtower, her head clear again - at least she has a home now, one far better than she'd have for the few weeks if not days she'd have been allowed to live in Gilded Vale.

If she wasn't killed because she's a Watcher, she'd have been killed because she's a Cipher - and if none of that was enough, she's also Aedyran. She wouldn't have lasted a month in Gilded Vale, in all likelihood.

There's a quiet disturbance behind her, and she whips up her crossbow to discover she's aiming it straight at Aloth. "Aloth! I thought you were staying with the others."

"My apologies, Cera. I feel I should explain myself for earlier."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pointed my crossbow at you - I nearly shot you!"

Aloth smiles slightly, and says "That's to be expected, all things considering. We did fight a lot of things that would very much have liked to kill us earlier today."

"Alright, thanks for…not being offended. What did you want to talk about?"

Aloth squirms in front of her, rubbing the knuckles on one hand so hard they turn white, and he won't look at her for some reason - and then he just rushes into what he's trying to say. "I…I to have an Awakened Soul. But unlike yours, mine is a presence that shares my senses and my skin, making herself manifest at the most unwelcome of times. I have none of her memories, Berath spared me that much, but her coarse manners and intolerable Hylspeak suggest a provincial from a very long time ago."

He takes in a breath, still looking anywhere but at her, until she quietly says "So back in Gilded Vale…that was…"

"Iselmyr. Yes, that was her doing - all of it, in fact. They took offense to something she said. She tends to surface a hairsbreadth from conflict - when the fuse has burned down and teeth are on edge. And when she shows up she doesn't stop to gauge a situation, she just…acts. She's artless, uncouth, a creature of rash impulses and feeble faculties. She wags her impertinent tongue when she should listen. She doesn't think, and she doesn't back down, and trying to suppress that has been my problem for years."

He's fidgeting with the hem of his hood now, until Cera puts a hand on his and effectively stops the fidgeting just by that. "Why not tell me? I get not telling people in Gilded Vale, not after seeing their decorating style, but…"

"I Awoke around fifty years ago, thanks to my father. He was a…strict man, and expected perfection from his only child. He didn't tolerate failure, especially when he was drinking. He could be rather…adamant, at times. It was one such time that Iselmyr appeared. To this day, I don't remember what exactly happened, but he was always far more careful with me afterwards."

"That didn't actually answer why you didn't say anything in all the time we've been travelling. Not exactly years, I know, but you know I wouldn't think any different of you!"

She sounds so hurt that Aloth has to look at her, saying "I learned to keep her a secret a very long time ago, Cera. People with Awakened souls are shunned, mistrusted. And after Maerwald, I'm sure you can see why. He's an extreme example, but one I can relate to more and more with each passing year. You…you need to be careful, Cera."

 _Fifty years of having an Awakened soul…_

She can't even imagine it, not with what her own is going to do to her. "Aloth, I…" He looks at her, his face half hidden in the shadow of his hood. She finally decides on the likely-very-stupid "I trust you." instead of a million other things that are welling up inside her.

His shoulders relax partially, and he says Thank you, Cera. That…that means more to me than you know."

"Aloth, this is going to sound stupid and spoiled and whiny, but…I don't want to go insane. I don't want to end up like Maerwald. Huddled in a corner, mumbling to myself about visions of a past life."

She rubs at her eyes, and Aloth says "That's not stupid at all. That's a reasonable reaction to learning that is your fate. Not wanting to suffer the same end. Wanting to find a solution that saves you. And Maerwald suggested we start in Defiance Bay."

Cera nods gratefully, and says "I don't want to risk trying to help you and make things go from manageable to my situation, but…"

"But?"

"But I'm always here if you want to talk. I'd give you a hug, but…" She trails off at Aloth's startled expression, like he's never heard the word before.

She waits for an answer so long that she starts fidgeting uncomfortably until he finally says "Mother was hardly ever around, and Father was not really the hugging type…so I suppose there's no reason why it wouldn't help even a little."

The hug is stiff and awkward at first, seems they both aren't very comfortable with close contact like this, but he finally rests his hands on her upper back and slowly relaxes.

Cera herself isn't much better, her childhood was filled with etiquette lessons and stiff formality rather than anything like affection. And it shows now, when she's uncomfortable while trying to give another some comfort - how ironic.

"Will you tell them?"

Aloth sighs and asks "Must I?"

"Not if you don't want to. But…if they haven't noticed something odd by now, then they'll notice eventually. They'll have to if she makes an appearance like in Gilded Vale, honestly."

"True enough. I'll tell them…tomorrow. Give me tonight to figure out what to say."

"Aloth, you don't have to tell them right away. But…they'll figure it out eventually unless Iselmyr decides to let you handle things until this is all over."

Another sigh out of Aloth, and he moves closer - and then tenses up when she rests her head against his chest. "Should I let go?"

She hasn't yet, doesn't seem particularly inclined to pull away suddenly, and says "No. I mean, you don't have to."

He relaxes and tightens his arms around her slightly, saying "Not yet then. Soon." Then he realizes one of his hands is stroking her hair, which might be why she seems so relaxed. Must be Iselmyr's doing...right?

* * *

 **AN: Alright, if nobody's guessed yet, Cera's background is the Aristocrat choice! Not saying other than that, but its implied in the lessons she had to take growing up. Next chapter is up! More chapters coming up soon! There may or may not be a gap for finals, but please don't go nuts and think I'm abandoning the story because I've got to study for a test!**


	5. Chapter 4

p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"They get into Defiance Bay, making their way through the crowds easily enough - kith tend to get out of the way when there's a fox following you obediently./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Sagani's eying Cera carefully, like she's not entirely sure whether or not to believe the elven woman when she says she's a Watcher. Hard to believe at first, but the sheer amount of staring at dead things and out into space quickly convinces people./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Or the nightmares she keeps getting, those are just as effective. Aloth's shaken her awake from four of them since leaving Caed Nua, and none of them seem to be anything but worse than the last. She won't talk about them, but she's got dark circles under her eyes by now and is getting twitchy - the last part is not so surprising, considering the fact that they get into trouble on a regular basis with wilders, beasts, and such./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Kana says "She seems to be holding up alright, for now anyway."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Aloth nods, eying the elven woman as she weaves around strangers easily enough. "She's holding out for now. But the sooner we find the Leaden Key, the sooner we can get her some help, or even just answers, and she won't have to be holding out."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Sagani nods, and says "I didn't see Maerwald, but your description of him doesn't sound like a good way to go. Little wonder she wants to avoid that fate."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Aloth nods, then realizes Cera has simply disappeared in the crowd at some point while they were talking. Eder and Aloth share a look, and then they spread out looking for her - between the fact that she can already hear people's voices whispering in her head because she's a Cipher, her being a Watcher, and the fact that this district is big enough on its own, she's more likely to wander around until she stops dead and stares at something for another twenty minutes rather than find them./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"She's not watching the performance up on stage, nobody in the Goose and Fox inn has seen her - they can only hope she didn't leave the Copperlane District just yet./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Aloth finally finds her in the marketplace, talking amiably with a woman she calls Lora. She gets a large smile on her face when she sees him - a lot more relaxed than he's seen on her yet, and not at all unpleasant - and quickly makes her way over to him./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"The fact that she looks entirely unharmed and unbothered helps him relax just a little, and Iselmyr's voice sounds in his head emYe daft nitwit. Ye'll worry yersel' to death o'er a lass tha' can more than han'le herself an' anyone fool enough to cross her./em/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"He doesn't have any time to make up a retort to Iselmyr's words as Cera gets over to him. "I got some directions to an old temple to Woedica from Lora. And…I may have gotten you something to."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Aloth raises an eyebrow at that last part, noticing the blush spreading across her face rapidly, and asks "What is it? And where's the temple?"/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;""In First Fires, near the entrance to Brackenbury. As for what I got you…hold out your hand." He does, and she drops a golden ring into it. "Lora said it was useful to Wizards, the enchantment…increases the number of times you can cast spells in a day? I didn't really understand it all that much, but…"/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Aloth's eyes get huge when he realizes what she's talking about - this ring must have cost a fortune! "Cera, where…how…"/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"She shakes her head, and says "I wanted you to have it. As a sort of thank-you for not just dumping me after hearing about…about what's going on. And about me in general. Most people either think I'm digging up every secret they have or just call me a freak and leave."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;""Never. You can just do different things than me. That doesn't…who called you a freak?"/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"She puts on a smile, though he can tell it's fake and there's some pain hidden under it, and says "Doesn't matter. They're far away anyway."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;""Cera…I'd have stayed anyway. You didn't have to get me this."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;""But I wanted to. Besides, what else were we going to do with two dozen Xaurip spears anyway? Between that and the stuff from the looters we found in Caed Nua - along with that monstrous spider - it wasn't too much. And…" She trails off and looks away, there's something she's not saying - doesn't want to remember maybe./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"He gently prods "And?"/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;""And I may have started out with some money beforehand. When I left home in Aedyr, well, I didn't plan on ever going back. So I took some food, my crossbow, and enough money to get me to wherever I thought was interesting, and then I left."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"He incredulously asks "And you picked emGilded Vale/em as an interesting place?"/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;""He offered a free home to anyone willing to come. It's not like he was advertising the tree in the middle of the town or anything." She shrugs uncomfortably, and says "Besides, it was somewhere my parents wouldn't think to look for me. A little village full of superstitious farmers that still hold a grudge against Aedyrans, they wouldn't think their…daughter would go there to live."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"The way she paused at the description of herself, like she was about to say something else but thought better of it - Aloth can relate all too well, thanks to his father. "You don't sound like you got along very well. You and your parents."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;""We didn't. So I left. They're rather ashamed of me, and to be entirely honest, the feelings are mutual. They'd rather I never existed, I'd rather deny that I share a drop of blood with them."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"He knows enough to know that such a conversation as one about her parents like this is best not done in a crowded marketplace - chances are she'll have a story to tell much like his but without the Awakening part. Strict parents, being forced to follow certain rules or be something you're not, etc. At least, if the way she was awkward about the hug they shared was any indication, they possibly had similar childhoods./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"And if that's the case, then her parents would likely foam at the mouth at the idea of getting a friend something just because you can - which makes it worth all the more. He smiles at her after a moment, putting his hand on her arm after slipping the ring on, and says "Let's go find the others. We all split up to look for you when we realized we didn't see you."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Cera nods, and says "Maybe we should keep ahold of each other so we don't get split up again."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Aloth nods, seeing the practical wisdom in that, and slides his hand down to hers before they set off. They get more than a few looks heading through the crowds, one drunk man gives them a look that says a lot of things and none of them appropriate, until they find Eder and Kana - Sagani's a lot harder to find, they eventually resort to Cera tracking her down via her mental powers. Turns out those come in real handy for a lot of things./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"And Edér immediately comments on the fact that Aloth and Cera's hands are clasped together - resulting in a bunch of flustered stammering about the crowds and trying to stick together, making the farmhand laugh./p  
hr style="background-color: #a0a0a0; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"In Ondra's Gift, which is apparently the beating heart of Defiance Bay's trade, Aloth sees a Vailian merchant with a rack full of items. Cera's finished talking with the unique woman who stormed out of the building in one bad temper, and is inside at the moment./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"One of the items, an amulet that seems to be carved from a ruby and is held on a chain by a silver clasp, catches his eye./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"The merchant sees his look at once and says "Ah, you sir have good taste!" He takes the pendant off its holder and says "This, good sir, is known as the Brîshalgwin Mindmarker. Supposed to enhance the abilities of Ciphers. Its story traces back to the Glanfathans, when they gave it to a Cipher who was very gifted at what they do. And they believe it to be a relic from the Engwithans themselves. Whether that part is true or not, the stories all say this amulet enhances a Cipher's abilities - how, I don't actually know. Never had the misfortune to run afoul of one, and I'm not itching to."/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Aloth nods in agreement, he's seen Cera's powers in action enough times to know Ciphers aren't really to be trifled with. "How much?" She got him a ring that must have cost a good few thousand coppers, if not more, why not get her something useful as well?/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"emAye, an' the fac' that it's a right fetching trinke' has noth'n to do wit' it, eh lad? /em/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"emShut up, Islemyr./em/p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;""A hundred and ten coppers, sir." Not terribly expensive, considering the prices in Aedyr he's seen for something that looks nearly the same./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Cera walks out of the door right beside them just as he puts the amulet in his pocket for now - the merchant's eyes widen and he smirks at the wizard when he realizes he knows the very pretty elf woman beckoning to him. He gives the merchant a look that says 'Not a word' and heads over./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Seems they're playing delivery for a few minutes, an hour at the most, and dropping off a bag of 'medicinal seeds' to a buyer. Cera wasn't too sure that she was getting the whole story here - who needs to contract a company to deliver something in Defiance Bay when you're emin/em Defiance Bay, for instance - but agreed to do the delivery as it seemed simple enough./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Of course, the guy that they're delivering the seeds to tells them House Doemenel is heavily involved in stuff like this - Verzano is actually budging in the business where he really shouldn't be - and that they just completed an illegal transaction./p  
hr style="background-color: #a0a0a0; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"After the whole incident with Verzano is finished, the feathered woman, Pallegina she's called, agrees to join them. She's also got a mission of her own now, broker a trade agreement with the Glanfathans./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Pallegina, for one, thinks that might come to be a mistake in the long run - given the Dyrwoodans' treatment of a man claiming to be Eothas, it's not unlikely that they might make a war over the Vailian Republics stealing their trade. They blew up a guy claiming to be possessed by a god, and one of the more popular ones at that, going to war with another nation isn't entirely unthinkable./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"After they get out of the Vailian Embassy, they head to the temple literally in eyesight of them - the ruined temple. Luckily, apparently there's a ghost in it that tells them the easiest way into the true sanctum is the entrance in Copperlane./p  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"Pallegina and Sagana both give her questioning looks about the sudden information, until Kana and Eder explain about the habit she's developed of staring at what they see as nothing for minutes on end and coming away from it with new information./p  
hr style="background-color: #a0a0a0; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /  
p style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"strongAN: Ok, so the ring Cera got Aloth is called 'Telda's Ring' it gives Wizards one extra first and third level spell each. They got the Xaurip spears and stuff from the Endless paths, Kana having insisted on taking a look - rabid historian on the loose! PS. the view count is frozen at 14, so I'd really love to know how you all are giving accurate reviews. Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming soon enough! Hope nobody gets too confused about the timings for stuff - trying to keep from going insane just seems like one of the bigger priorities compared to some of the other side quests. /strong/p 


	6. Chapter 5

"Let me get this straight, your going to disguise yourself as a Leaden Key member in order to get in and find out what they're doing here?"

Cera stares at Aloth's expression, which she thinks is a mix of surprise, concern, and the idea that she's just said the craziest thing he's ever heard. "Yeah. Seeing as the soul of one didn't know the name or even the face of the guy he walked past, it's pretty safe to assume they won't know I'm not one of them. Or I can say I'm a new member. And, if all else fails, I can read their souls after they're dead."

She shrugs, and Eder says "Fair enough. But how are you going to convince them that you are one of them?"

"I can just say I'm nervous about the meeting or something - so nervous I don't remember anything I'm supposed to say. Or I can read their minds and learn what it is I'm supposed to say."

"Okay. Well, first we'd have to find them down here."

Cera stares at the hood for a moment, then says "There's a set of stairs down at the far end of the catacombs, straight from the entrance and the last right followed by an immediate left."

Eder blinks, and Pallegina asks "What just happened?"

"While most Watchers aren't psychic, this one is. It comes in rather useful at times. And nobody is ready for my Mind Blades. As for what happened, I read this hood's past, where it's been and all." She shrugs, and starts off towards whatever staircase she knows of now - but freezes in front of a door that's locked. "There's…someone in there."

Sagani says "It's locked though, and I don't know how to unlock it."

"Lucky for us, I do."

She kneels at the door and starts working at the keyhole with a set of wires, and Aloth asks "When did you learn this?"

"Taught myself, with a little help from the wires. One of the many things my parents find a complete embarrassment. It comes in useful for stuff like this though." _Click_.

The door swings open to reveal a very dirty Orlan sitting by a pitiful campfire. His story is rather tragic - came to Defiance Bay to make a name for himself, made it and lost it, now he's hiding from the Crucible Knights. Cera gives him enough money to buy his way out of Defiance Bay, an argument about shipping agreements and defending himself from a man twice his height shouldn't be the reason a person goes to jail or gets hung.

* * *

Cera stops dead in the middle of the room, staring at nothing and mumbling to herself. Aloth hears the name 'Creitum' along with being born there, she's not sure about something, and she's ready for something. She seems to snap out of it when he puts a hand on her shoulder, asking "Are you alright, Cera?"

"Yeah, fine…I'm fine, Aloth." She sounded dazed for a minute, distracted - he so dearly hopes her past life didn't just surge up and attempt to make her have an episode like Maerwald was having every other sentence.

* * *

They've just learned the passphrases from one of the initiates, who was nervous because he's worried the woman will see he's wondering what she looks like under the mask when she enters his head, and are heading towards the chamber with the Acolyte.

Aloth can feel Iselmyr stirring and scraping at him more with every step - and she suddenly says "Back, ye clod. These hooded fiends are nye to be trusted."

Her very, _very_ sudden eruption leaves him coughing and sputtering, even as Cera pounds him on the back a few times. Her eyes are wide, both with concern and worry for him and quick glances stolen at their companions.

Eder says "Aloth, maybe now's not the best time for…that."

He hasn't told them yet, was still trying to figure out how to break it to them - looks like he doesn't have a choice now. _D_

 _amn it, Iselmyr!_

He grimaces, and says "I'm fine, I'll explain after all this. We probably shouldn't linger here anyway."

 _Aloth, now you have to tell them!_

 _I know, Cera. I wish I didn't, but I do. If only to have a few more days to figure out how to tell them._

 _Aloth, Pallegina's covered in feathers, Sagani's looking for a long-dead village elder that could be anyone, Kana's on a search for a stone tablet that's taken him all across Eora, and Eder fought on the side that blew up his god in the last war here - do you honestly think they'll react that badly? Besides, its…its not me. You won't go crazy like I will._

 _Cera, we won't let you go insane. We'll figure out how to stop this._

They break off the mental connection just as they reach the door, and Cera says "I'll go in alone. If you hear the sounds of crossbow bolts being fired, by all means come in and start shooting, swinging, and casting." They have to chuckle a little, and then she's through the door.

Aloth's decided he hates the sight of the Woedica hood on her - far too wrong for her, it doesn't suit her whatsoever. That might also be because she's also in the Dyrwoodan clothing she picked up shortly after arriving in Gilded Vale, but he still wants to burn the hood to nothing.

She comes back out after what feels like a few more moments - he was musing to himself and Iselmyr for about five minutes - and closes the door. She very quietly says, after checking for any eavesdropping minds, "Ok, we've got three leads. A man in Heritage Hill, there's someone in the Sanitarium, and a group of people in Dyrford. I vote we start in Heritage Hill, as the Acolyte said to 'stop him.' A man at the top of a tower like the one in Cilant Lis. And not to let him meet a woman with a scar over her heart."

Kana says "Yes, that sounds like the most pressing matter."

Pallegina says "I've heard for over two weeks now that something truly horrible has been happening in that district. Nobody is allowed in there, and Crucible Knights keep disappearing during watches."

Eder says "Sounds like the place to go then."

Aloth's not so sure about that, he doesn't know what they've done to the place though, but doesn't voice his thoughts - he's still got to figure out how he's going to explain Iselmyr's all-too-obvious appearance to them all. Nearly all, Cera already knows - and she offered to support him before. W

hen they get out of the catacombs, after he explained everything rather awkwardly - he's kept this secret for so long that telling it to someone now is near-impossible, even for the second time - he quietly takes Cera aside for a minute. He puts his hands behind his back to stop the fidgeting, he's pretty sure she can see it anyway though, and says "I've heard there's an entire institution dedicated to the study of the soul and Awakenings in Defiance Bay. If we ended up around there…"

"Aloth, of course! If it'll help you, then of course we'll go pay them a visit."

Aloth relaxes a fraction, and says "And maybe they can help you as well. At the very least, it'd be easier than trying to track down the Leaden Key."

She cracks a grin and says "And fresher to. Plus I probably wouldn't have to pick any locks." Yeah, that - why would her parents be ashamed of that? The question must be written all over his face, because she says "My parents and I disagree on a lot of things. Most of which involve me being able to do something useful." She shrugs and adds "Not like I care though."

That's a lie, he can tell. The way she stiffens up for a second, the way her posture goes straight as his scepter, all of it. He knows how to read people as well as he knows how to cast spells, and he's reading the fact that she does care what her parents think - but she's too upset to admit it. He changes the subject though, saying "Thank you, Cera. For everything. And, well, seeing as you found me a useful item…"

He pulls the necklace from his pocket, and her breath catches in her throat for an instant. "Aloth, its…" _Beautiful. Means more to me than all the jewelry my parents made me wear whenever we went out in public. Is the best gift anyone's ever given me._ She keeps the thoughts to herself, and finally manages to come out with the not-at-all satisfactory "lovely."

Aloth undoes the clasp and puts it around her neck, making her skin tingle when the back of his hand grazes her neck. It's almost like she's getting another vision, except she's firmly grounded in this life of hers - but she can't think, can't move, doesn't really want to move.

 _It must just be his magical abilities or something. That's the only explanation that makes sense, right?_

She so hopes so, because her life has taken a few turns for the dangerous and is likely going to take a few more down that path - can she really get her hopes up that a friendship with a fellow Elf from Aedyr could be more? Can she afford to? Especially if…if her feelings aren't returned?

* * *

 **AN: Alright, Heritage Hill it is! That honestly seemed like the most important thing to get to, as opposed to people entering a town on the other side of the Plains and a guy sitting in the Sanitarium. As for Pallegina, if anyone is confused, she's been given the mission to get to Twin Elms and broker a trade agreement - the ambassador doesn't really care how she gets there though, giving her the freedom to help with other problems until the floodwaters go back down. Will be doing White March, along with soulbound weapons. And Master Below, will also be doing a chapter for that as well. Enjoy! More chapters coming soon!**


	7. Chapter 6

Just after getting out of the tower - the tower Cera destroyed, as the Leaden Key would likely just start this horror all over again - they get summoned to see Lady Webb. Cera and Aloth have no idea who this Lady Webb is, but Eder says "Problems in this city have a way of disappearing on their own, and most of the time you can thank Dunryd Row up in Hadret House for it. You do wrong in this city, before you go begging the gods for forgiveness best you beg Lady Webb first."

Kana says "Seems the stories of Dunryd Row are true. A whole organization of Ciphers, supposedly. All under one Lady Webb, the supposed founder and head of Hadret House."

Cera whistles in appreciation, then says "I'd love to get to talking with them then. Maybe they could teach me a few things."

Eder says "The place is up in Brackenbury, two districts away from here. What do you think the chances are that they just mentally communicate with each other like Cera does with us at times?"

"Hey, it's useful during a battle! And for snapping people out of the confusion spores can cause so easily."

Sagani says "Fair enough. Not the worst tactic in battle either."

Eder gets a sly grin on his face and asks "So who do you trade jokes with on the road? I know it isn't me, but…"

His eyes dart between Cera and Aloth, making Cera blush heavily and say "Eder, cool it already! Just because I _can_ connect to other people's minds doesn't mean I do! I happen to respect other people's privacy more than that, I'll have you know." She makes her way forward through the group, hoping to spare herself more comments from the farmhand, and they follow.

When they get to Brackenbury, after stopping at First Fires and informing them that Heritage Hill is safe - and seeing Saeda, thankfully - they head off to Hadret House and Brackenbury. Cera stops dead three feet away from the door however, her gaze wide and unfocused on their surroundings.

Aloth asks "Cera?" Her lips are moving, she's speaking _Engwithan_ for some reason, but she doesn't even blink when he waves a hand in front of her face.

Her expression is vaguely anxious and worried, until it suddenly turns to relief beyond measure, and then she blinks and looks around at them. "What's wrong?"

Pallegina says "You stopped moving and started talking to nothing, that's what's wrong, Amica. Started saying stuff we didn't understand. The language you very recently learned from a woman named Icantha, no?"

She blinks and looks around at everyone, then says "Oh, sorry." She looks at the ground, a blush creeping up her face, then says "Let's go inside. I can tell there's a bunch of Ciphers in there."

When they get inside, Cera's immediately bombarded with a few dozen sensations all at once. The feel of the minds in this particular building is…sharp, focused. Other Ciphers, other people who can sense the same kinds of things she can.

Eder asks "Any idea of where Lady Webb is here?"

"No…but this is incredible. I can feel their own powers, their own minds sharp as razors. Its…it's a new experience for me." She heads up to a random Cipher, who's muttering about connections and trails, and politely clears her throat. "Excuse me, can you help me?"

He turns around, and there's a sudden feeling of something probing her own mind. His eyes widen when she pushes him back out, and says "Your another Cipher. And from what my own meager powers suggest, a formidable one indeed. Though your powers are…untrained, despite how you use them."

Luckily, most of the others are talking with various other Ciphers, but Aloth seems to have heard - he raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say a word. She lowers her voice and says "You might call me self-taught. I learned as much as I could through trial and error over the years. I manage, though sometimes it's a bit overwhelming. That's not the only reason I'm here though. My other reason is because Lady Webb invited my friends and I here."

"Indeed? Up the stairs, middle door in the hallway."

"Thank you. And, if you have time, I would not mind learning a few things from you. Such as what else a Cipher can do."

"I've read every technique there is, and you'd be welcome to take a quick look. You have a great talent, one that could turn dangerous if not trained - as much a danger to you as everyone around you."

"I've noticed. Being in the city is…noisy, to put it one way." She probes at his mind, gently at first, then slightly stronger until she finds what she's looking for. It barely takes a minute for information of all the Cipher techniques to pass along to her, and she says "Thank you, truly."

"Not a problem for a fellow Cipher, Cera Iden."

She freezes and stiffens in shock, then quietly hisses "How did you-"

"You saw into my head, I saw into yours. Another thing you'll want to learn, how to shield your mind. It'll also help with keeping other people's thoughts out of your head when they're not wanted. It wasn't any intention of mine, your mind is particularly open. One of the reasons you tend to form connections with people without realizing it until its already there."

Cera groans quietly and asks "How much did you see?"

"I saw quite enough to know that you've come impressively far on your own. No formal training, and you still managed to keep your sanity intact and teach yourself a few techniques, quite the feat for someone going off of nothing but their imagination and the needs of their circumstances. I wish you well, Cera."

"Again, I thank you. And please, whatever you do, keep that other name to yourself. Better yet, forget about it entirely."

He chuckles, winks at her, then goes back to his papers. She mentally connects with her friends, and says _I got directions to Lady Webb. Upstairs, middle of the hallway. I'll go meet with her._

She cuts the connection off before anyone can say anything - here's hoping nobody heard mention of her last name, particularly Aloth - and quickly heads upstairs.

Twenty minutes later, she heads back down to find all five companions waiting for her. Kana asks "Well?"

"Apparently the guy with the winged mask is called Thaos Ix Arkannon. He's supposedly the Grandmaster and _freaking founder_ of the Leaden Key - which dates back to Engwithan times. He's apparently reborn again and again exactly the same man, Awakened during adolescence, and then continues with his work with all the knowledge of his previous lives. And apparently he's one of Woedica's favored - which is why he can keep doing this. Oh, and his body is apparently no body for his soul, he can take complete control of people if their souls are weak enough and make them do things."

Sagani asks "Like you can? You said you can control people's minds if you want to."

"Sort of, I guess. The big difference is that I'd only do it in self-defense and only if I didn't see any other choice. That and the fact that Thaos simply shoves their souls aside and they remember everything. Nobody remembers anything when I do it - and I only do it when I absolutely have to, Thaos does it for his elaborate schemes and occasionally to mete out punishment when his underlings fail him."

Kana says "Oh. That is quite the notable difference then."

* * *

 **AN: And we have a last name, people! Cera, Iden! Totally made it up, not actually part of the canon game at all. Please save any questions until after a few chapters, all will be explained by then. PS. Survived two finals at extreme times yesterday, then laid down and crashed once my head hit the pillow at ten at night. Only one left, here's hoping! Posting chapters in celebration. HOORAY!**


	8. Chapter 7

After meeting Lady Webb they head back to Caed Nua for a few days - given the fact that this person in the Sanitarium has no apparent intention of leaving, it's safe to say there's some room for a quick visit to the Keep they desperately need to rebuild. Which happens to be another of Cera's reasons for heading back, they sold the stuff they found in their fights with the Guls and various Darguls in the district and saved up enough money to repair the Barracks. Between that, the walls that need some repair, and the Western Barbican, the place should be well secured to not get raided by bandits any time soon. They've barely got anything rebuilt, Brighthollow and the Main Keep only, but any progress is good considering the state of the place when they found it.

When they get there, they find that at least the restoration of the Western Barbican finished while they were away.

Cera lets out a sigh of relief, seeing as her new home hasn't been ransacked or anything just yet, and they head inside Brighthollow - Cera making for the Main Keep to check in with the Steward and start on repair of the Barracks, so they can hire some guards to patrol the place. Aloth follows her, intending to make for the library and look through the books and scrolls they salvaged, and holds the door open for her.

The Steward's voice rings out from the throne "Good to see you, my Lady! How did things in Defiance Bay go?"

"Could have been worse, could have been a lot better. We found the Leaden Key, we also found a district they turned into a walking graveyard. They activated a tower in the district, killed a few kith, and just sat back and watched the chaos unfold - might've even set up the kith they killed, a group of researchers that were commissioned to discover what the tower did. Well, they discovered it alright. Too bad they had to be killed to do so. How are things going?"

"Very good my Lady. The Western Barbican was finished about four hours ago, which should help with security a little at least."

"Yes, I noticed. Well-built to. Luckily, we found enough coin in Heritage Hill to repair the Barracks - which should help with matters of security some, as we'll be able to hire some guards for the place."

"Yes, I'll get right on it. Oh, speaking of which, there are two matters that may concern you. One is a letter that came all the way from Stalwart. I thought the messenger was going to swoon, the poor dear. It seems Renengild, the mayor of the town, is looking to get into Durgan's Battery."

Cera lets out an appreciative whistle, and says "Now that would be quite the feat. Stories say the Dwarves there sealed themselves away inside and killed each other."

"Yes, well, Renengild has her sights set on the Battery for the White Forge, and believes someone with your experience may have an edge. And in this case, I believe she may be right in suggesting that. Oh, and the group of Woedica followers you have taken an interest in has also sent a group of people there."

"Good to know, thank you. What was the second thing?"

"Yes, well, about halfway through the day, a group of elves came to the Keep. From their accents, I assumed they were from Aedyr - three elves, two older, one younger. The two older ones were about the same age, a man and a woman, and the third elf was a man about your age I believe."

Aloth can see Cera getting pale, but she keeps her voice steady as she asks "Aedyrans? Did they say why there were here?"

"I'm afraid they are still here, my Lady. As for their business, they claimed to be your parents and…your betrothed."

If Cera was going pale before, she goes as white as snow now and asks "My _what?!_ I'm not betrothed to anyone!"

"Yes, well, that is what they claimed. I bade them await your return from Defiance Bay so that this can be worked out, and they left the Main Keep for Brighthollow. They are still there now, my Lady."

"Thank you, Steward. For letting me know of this before I walked in and had a very unpleasant surprise."

"I take it your relationship with your parents is not cordial, my Lady?"

"No, not particularly. How in Eora did they track me all the way here? Great, this is the last thing I need. Or can take, at the moment." She hurries out of the hall, Aloth following her - she's betrothed?! The questions must be written all over his face, because she says "I'm not betrothed to anyone, Aloth. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"You've met this man then?"

"This one, probably not. But this isn't the first time I've had a suitor my parents approved of - and believe me, none of them were right for me." At his questioning glance, she sighs and says "I really do try to respect other peoples' privacy, I really do. But when my parents want to make me spend the rest of my life with someone, well, I want to know that _I_ want to spend the rest of my life with them. And none of them…none of them cared about me. They only cared about the title they'd get upon marrying into my family. They were all pompous, vain lords and such that cared more for appearances and how much political power they could gain by marrying into another wealthy family, didn't have a care in the world for whomever that unlucky girl would be other than how pretty she is, what kind of dances she knows, and whether or not she is capable of producing an heir for them. And, as a Cipher, I've found appearances can say very little while what's underneath can say a great deal. The expression 'actions speak louder than words' - well, I've modified it to 'motives speak louder than actions.' And my motives are to find someone who actually cares about me."

She opens up Brighthollow and heads upstairs, only for them to find an elven man in a heated argument with Kana and Eder. The elder man, dressed in finery they haven't encountered anywhere in the Dyrwood, says "I demand to see my daughter at once! The so-called Lady of Caed Nua should-"

Cera puts two fingers to her lips and lets out a shrill whistle, effectively getting everyone's attention and cutting off her father's tirade at the same time.

They give each other hostile looks for a full minute, and Kana quietly says "Not exactly a happy family reunion then."

Cera doesn't say anything out loud, but she connects with his mind and says _I left for a reason, Kana. I really need to know though, have you seen a male elf about my age?_

 _No, why?_

 _Damn, because he's who my parents are attempting to marry me off to this time._

 _…What?_

 _Don't ask until after, please. By all the gods, I can't believe they tracked me down to keep this up._

The entire exchange takes maybe a minute, but Cera's father apparently knows that something is up - or knows his daughter's abilities well enough. "Stop putting your whispers in other people's heads and-"

"What are you doing here?" Cera's normally warm voice has gone ice cold, having none of the compassion she feels for most anyone.

"I've come to bring you back home. You've had your little adventure across Eora, but now it's time to return to Aedyr and-"

"And what? Marry some stuck-up, pompous noble to combine our house with his? Be tethered to a man who doesn't care for me other than what heir I can produce?"

"Oh, not this argument again!" They all turn around to find an elvish woman with her brown hair up in an intricate bun made from a set of braids that must have taken forever standing in another doorway, the doorway to _Cera's room_ no less, and Cera tightly says "Mother."

This close to her parents, it's easy to see they're related - Cera's got her father's nose and jawline, and her mother's lips, cheekbones, and hair. Her eyes though, Aloth can't help noticing she doesn't get her blue-green eyes from either of them - something she must be glad for, from the hostility between them.

Her mother looks her over with obvious disapproval, saying "You destroyed your hair, and your dressed as one of these commoners."

Cera visibly grits her teeth, and says "I _cut_ my hair. And I'm dressed as the locals in Dyrwood do because they know what is appropriate for the weather and such here."

 _And so nobody immediately recognizes I'm Aedyran and hangs me for it._

Aloth has to agree with that part, then he realizes it was in her voice - she's connected to him now? That certainly explains why it's so choppy though, if she cut it herself - likely on the road, from what he can gather.

Pallegina comes in a few moments later as Cera and her parents move to talk in semi-private, dragging an elven man in robes every bit as ostentatious as Cera's parents, and Eder says "And here's the last guy - you said there weren't any others, right?"

Pallegina says "This one is the only other I could find. Went snooping around to see if his 'betrothed' was around. Whoever that is, I truly feel sorry for the poor girl."

Aloth gives a polite cough, inclines his head towards Cera - who is by now in a furious argument with her parents a little ways away from the group, and Pallegina stares at all of them in shock for a minute. "By all the gods, our friend has truly terrible luck. This one, as we say in the Republics, is a leech and a worm. We normally use the insults to describe business men that embezzle from their businesses and have no backbone, respectively, but it is also used in much more…offensive ways when it describes a person in all their qualities. This case is definitely the latter."

Aloth eyes the elven man, and it's not hard to see why Pallegina doesn't think much of him - he's shaking like a leaf at the mere sight of the feathered woman, Kana, and Sagani, and they can all bet it's not lost on Cera either.

Sagani asks "Who, for the gods' sake, would want to pair their child with _this_ guy? No wonder Cera doesn't talk about her family much."

"Cera? The Lady of Caed Nua? Where is she, I'm-"

Eder grins and says "She's having a talk with her parents. Something tells me you'll be off to Aedyr soon enough - without her, as we've got business here that really can't be put off for long."

The elf's eyes widen when they land on Cera - her travel-stained clothing, her choppy, self-cut hair, and the loaded crossbow at her hip. He incredulously asks "That is…"

Sagani finishes "Cera. Lady of Caed Nua, and our friend. She can more than take care of herself though, despite what you may think."

Cera's father's voice raises suddenly, and he says "Cera, this ridiculousness of yours is coming to an end right now! You are coming back to Aedyr with us, marrying-"

"No! I'm staying here, in the Dyrwood, as the Lady of Caed Nua. I cannot just pack up and leave, as I now have responsibilities here in the Dyrwood that I cannot just walk away from. Restoring Caed Nua, dealing with a 'Master Below' deep under the place, and finding an individual that has managed to up and disappear somewhere." She yanks her wrist out of her father's grasp, glaring defiantly at him even as he tries to form a response.

"If you do not return with us to Aedyr-"

"Disown me then! See if I care! When I left home, I swore I would never come back - and I mean to fully keep that promise, no matter what else happens."

The elf - Cera's not-betrothed - finally gets out of Pallegina's grip and says "I was promised your hand-" As an answer, Cera whips her crossbow up, pointing it directly at his heart with purple flames surrounding the bolt.

Eder bursts out laughing, and says "Now there is a 'Dyrwoodan hello' for sure! Not as big as the one we gave Waidwen, but just as good!"

Kana says "That's…a firm answer, if nothing else."

Aloth can feel Iselmyr rolling around on their mental floor laughing hysterically, and says _Don't you dare say a word that they'll hear, Iselmyr. I mean it, don't._

 _Laddie, this…this is too good…hahahahaha!_

He has to agree there, but barely manages to keep his lips from twitching upwards.

"You…you're a…"

"Cipher. Brîshalgwin, here. And a very good one, at that. Didn't they tell you that little detail about me? The fact that I could hear your mental blubbering for the past five minutes since Pallegina found you? Praying to every god with some jurisdiction in the matter that she wouldn't kill you?"

"You went in my head?!"

"No, I didn't have to - you were basically shouting it out for the world to hear, the ones that can hear it, anyway." The elf noble looks at the crossbow bolt, still wreathed in purple flames, and holds his hands up - smart move. "Go back to Aedyr. All three of you. I'm not going back, and I'm not marrying someone I don't love. That's the end of it."

The look of fury that crosses Cera's father's face doesn't go unnoticed, but Cera is also more than capable of simply making them leave - they leave of their own volition, much to Cera's relief. If they hadn't, they'd likely be dealing with Aedyran guards every few weeks sent to 'escort' her back to Aedyr.

* * *

 **AN: Next chapter is up, folks! I went into further detail about the two options I sort of combined in the beginning of the game. Cera and her parents _do not_ get along by any means. more info on the why and how next chapter! At any rate, at least it seems Caed Nua's restoration is going well! Focusing on the defense seems a logical move, seeing as the walls are broken, etc. And all the bandits around the area. I know this is way off the game canon, but some options would have some pretty big consequences in real life and you can just walk away in the game and nobody really cares about you being a raider or con artist in the caravan. Anyway, enjoy! One last final to take, and I'm done! Passed my Chem class with a solid B, which I'm seriously happy about, Stats is still up in the air at the moment, but I'm close to an A-, etc. Enjoy, please review! PS. timing for some of the personal quests, such as the Long Hunt, may seem a little screwy - but trying to stop a group of people that turned a district into a horror movie scene and not going insane seems fairly important. **


	9. Chapter 8

After Sagani can't see Cera's parents anymore, making the Elf woman incredibly happy for the fact, she sighs and says "And I suppose now everyone wants to know what exactly that was all about and why they came all the way from Aedyr looking for me."

Eder says "To be completely honest, yes. That's exactly what I'm wondering about. Right along with how many arrows you'd have put in that elf noble if he took one step closer to you." The farmhand grins, and Cera sighs and rubs her forehead.

"Let's…let's get some food and I'll tell you all over dinner."

Pallegina says "Fair enough. They remind me of my own parents - what little I remember of them. The attitudes, you see. My father, anyway."

"Mm. I feel your pain, Pallegina."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they're all sitting at the table in Brighthollow and waiting expectantly.

Cera, on the other hand, is staring at the wall like it holds the secrets to fixing all her problems.

Finally, Kana clears his throat and says "Cera, you did say you'd, well…"

"Explain? Yes, I did say that." She takes a deep breath and says "I may not have told you guys everything there is to know about me. For starters, you all know I'm from Aedyr - what you don't know is that I'm from the Iden family, an incredibly old and politically connected family that must be almost as powerful as royalty. And, to make matters worse, I'm an only child - their _heir._ " The way she says it makes it sound like the worst insult in the world. "I was provided with a very expensive education, the best food and clothes, all of it. I was the perfect little princess, if a little too curious for their tastes, right up until my Cipher abilities started showing - gave everyone quite the shock when I asked if father really thought I was useless and a disgrace to the family name, as he hadn't said it but I heard it clear as day."

Edér chuckled and asks "When did this happen?"

"In human years, I was about five or so. I'd been around for about fifteen years though. After that, well, things only kept happening from there. I'd hear people's thoughts in my head when I was focusing on them - such as when paying attention while they were talking - and projecting my emotions unintentionally when they got the best of me happened more often than not. Soon enough, I was seeing visions of an object's past when I was holding it and influencing people by accident when I wanted something badly enough. Accidental at first, though I quickly figured out how to do it on purpose for when I needed to use the skill. I practiced my powers so I'd stop using them by accident, but it just seemed to make them all the stronger as the years went by. Soon enough, the servants were thinking I was a freak or was going to make them do something if they got me angry - and my parents were never satisfied with me. No matter what I did or tried, it was never enough for them to simply care about me or show any affection. I was my father's pawn, his underage advisor giving him advice in the form of his opponents thoughts, feelings, and memories. Mother wouldn't even do my hair in the morning, always having the servants twist and pull it into some ridiculous style that hurt my head. It all came to a head when I came of age to marry and bear children. They called in every suitor they considered 'appropriate' - one after another, when each was either scared off or I rejected them. Once I could call bad luck, much like Kana and being ambushed by the Leaden Key, but fifteen times in a row?"

Even Sagani's look is one of pure shock and horror - fifteen guys like that last one?! Aloth asks "What we're they like?"

"Much like this latest one. Vain, self-centered, and didn't care to get to know me in the slightest. Some put on better acts than others, and I really did give them a chance, but it never failed that I'd have been miserable with them sooner or later. So, I left. Packed a bag one night, took some food and my inheritance, which wasn't much compared to the family fortune, and I left. Didn't even take one of the horses either, as that would've been noticed, and left. They'd likely have never come for me if most if not all of Aedyr hadn't known they had a daughter. And word of my disappearance must have spread fast enough, a day or two likely - at most, when the next of the suitors showed and I was simply gone." She lets out a snort of laughter and says "Good thing I chopped most of my hair off with a knife and bought some practical traveling clothes, then I sold my fancy ones and more than made up the money."

Now Aloth has to laugh a little - Iselmyr is nearly dying of laughter at this point - and says "That explains a few things - like the choppy ends in the back."

"Well, I was using a dull knife and a warped mirror. So I didn't do too badly, all things considering. Honestly, leaving was the best decision I'd made up to that point - aside from practicing my Cipher abilities."

Eder starts laughing so hard he nearly has some of his drink come out of his nose, Sagani is nodding in approval at her self-reliance, and Pallegina says "I know how you feel. My best memory of the little fishing village I was born in was leaving. I don't remember much, but I remember that clearly."

"So what else is there to tell? I took the most well-kept crossbow from the armory to defend myself with, having used it plenty before in sport - little did they know I wasn't practicing to join hunts and such, but to be able to use it well - so it's not like I was taking something I couldn't use. Besides, it was one of the older crossbows anyway, not worth as much as some of the fancier, decorative ones, but tried and true in a battle. None of the carvings in the wooden body or fancy attachments - a lot harder to recognize that way anyway."

Kana asks "Even with all of Aedyr knowing of you…why come after you if they didn't really seem to care for you all that much?"

Cera shrugs, and says "I'm not entirely sure myself, to be honest. They'd deny I ever existed if they could, and I'd deny sharing a drop of blood with them. Couldn't have been for the freaking crossbow. Maybe they found a suitor of a particularly high station, maybe my father has something over one of the few houses higher in the complicated hierarchy and is looking to make two houses one. At any rate, he can just head back to Aedyr and take his plans with him. Because I'm not going to be his pawn anymore."

Sagani asks "Where did you go after leaving?"

"I wandered for a while, trying to make my trail so difficult to follow that nobody would find me - looks like I didn't do a good enough job though. When I finally got out of Aedyr, I wandered in the Vailian Republics for a bit, visited Rauatai for a time, then went all the way up to Ixamitl, then looped my way around through there and back towards Gilded Vale. I was sort of hoping that all the traveling would throw even the most determined follower off my track - and that being somewhere small like Gilded Vale would deter anybody from the sheer irony. An Aedyran woman of high birth working on a farm among villagers who are about as hostile as it gets towards foreigners - Aedyrans particularly - instead of going somewhere more like the upbringing she's used to? Logical enough, but it seems the gods had other plans for me. The Caravan I joined got attacked, Calisca, Heoden, and I had to make our way through a creepy ruin, and I got Awakened and made a Watcher the next morning."

She shrugs and pushes the food on her plate around, and Kana says "Quite the story to tell, my friend! A young noblewoman goes off to find her own path - and finds adventure and danger in spades! This adventure of yours shall be an epic in later years!"

Cera's smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, but she says "Yes, I'll make sure to write down all the details afterward."

Eder asks "How exactly did you get Awakened and made a Watcher anyway? I don't think I've heard that part of the story yet."

"To be honest, I'm not sure what was even happening. When Calisca, Heoden, and I got out of the ruins, there was a group of people performing some kind of ritual. Four living people, and one body that looked like it was made of stone or ash. One of them was different from the rest, ceremonial robes and a mask with wings - Thaos. He spoke of a book of burden, a Queen-That-Was - Woedica - and a key. Must've meant the Leaden Key. He activated a machine, one that looks similar to how the one in Heritage Hill did before I blew it up, and then it activated and he left. Whatever happened, it made a second Biawac. I blacked out, and Calisca and Heodan died. Caldera said I have a strong soul, that the storm couldn't pick it up from my body - and when I woke from the most realistic dream I'd ever had, I was hearing whispers and seeing visions of people on torture racks and tied to posts. I buried Calisca and Heoden, and made for Gilded Vale to get some help. And then everyone knows the rest. Finding and saving Tenfrith, meeting Nonton, and then getting into Gilded Vale and discovering the town that I'd been led to believe Gilded Vale was is nothing more than a lie or a memory."

Eder says "And now your folks come visiting all the way from Aedyr to find you. Wonderful, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Wonderful. I'm going to have a look around, see if they took anything or left any surprises."

Sagani asks "They'd do that?"

"I've never known my parents to do something so petty - but my not-betrothed is another thing entirely. Never met that one, so I have no way of knowing how slippery his fingers are or aren't."

She gets up and leaves before anyone can say another word, and Aloth says "I'll go help."

In truth, he's fairly certain her reason was a total excuse, and that she made it up to get some time alone. And he recognizes the family name, one of the most powerful in Aedyr _\- and she's the heir?!_

* * *

When he finds her, she's standing on top of one of the walls - staring out in the distance at the road her parents took. This time when he clears his throat, she doesn't even twitch - he can, however, practically feel the waves of sadness and despair rolling off her in waves. She isn't crying though, she's standing stock-still and having no response to him. "Cera, what's wrong?"

She quietly says "Nothing's wrong. Everything's exactly as its been for my entire life - other than having a timer for my sanity to run out that is."

He can tell that means everything's wrong just from the way her voice is so quiet - quiet almost to the point of cracking with tears. He puts a hand on her shoulder, and she finally turns to look at him - she hasn't been crying, but even in the moonlight he can see the pain in her eyes and expression. This time he's the one offering the hug, wrapping his arms around her without thinking about whether or not he should - it's pretty much the only thing he can think of that he can do as her friend.

And, after a moment, her shoulders start shaking and his leather armor starts going damp. She cries until she runs out of tears, which takes a good twenty minutes, but Aloth patiently waits until she runs dry before ceasing his murmuring - nonsense, but she wasn't going to hear him no matter what he said - and loosens his arms so she can take a step back. She remains at his chest though, until he puts his arms back around her. After another minute or so, she sniffles and wipes at her face with the back of her hand while saying "You must think I'm a crybaby or something, crying over my reasons." Aloth wordlessly shakes his head in a 'no' - she relaxes after a moment, and says "Well…thank you, Aloth. For…for caring. For a lot of things."

"Did they ever…hurt you?"

He's seriously considering tracking them down and casting some of the hexes and curses he learned at the Arcane Knights academy he trained in if they ever laid a hand on Cera, but she says "No, not physically. But it almost would've been easier to deal with, in some ways."

"They didn't take anything, did they?"

"No, they didn't. I didn't think they would anyway. My father's very good at figuring out if he's working with dishonest people, don't ask me how anymore. Used to be me."

She shrugs, and Aloth says "Let's go back inside. The Dyrwood isn't nearly as warm as Aedyr, and the sun has long since set." She nods, and they head back down to Brighthollow.

Everyone else has turned in by now, and Cera whispers "Thank you again, Aloth. For…for everything."

"My pleasure, Cera."

Iselmyr rattles against his skull, saying _Yer pleasure indeed, lad. Will ye ever stop ninnying an' jus' tell the lass already?_

 _Shut up, Iselmyr. She likely doesn't feel the same._

 _Keep tellin' yerself that, lad. Doubtful tha' its true tho'._

* * *

 **AN: Alright, we finally have Cera's full backstory! Completely made up her family and all that - but hey, I thought it was pretty good. And seeing as the backstory seems to have _absolutely no consequences_ in the game, I made something up for that little detail. Love the game, don't get me wrong, but some of the things don't make complete sense - like why the caravan would let a _criminal_ on board. *Raider option* Anyway, enjoy! More updates coming soon! Passed all my classes with a B or better! Yay! Which means I've got more time to write new chapters for my stories! Only the best for them though, so please don't freak out on me for taking a few days between summer chores and stuff - like mowing the lawn. PS. just got a new puppy, he's _so freaking CUTE!_**


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: Just realized I didn't actually mention how I think elves age compared to humans, oops. I figure one human year is equal to around three elf years - making Aloth about twenty if he were a human. Given how he's looking for guidance throughout most of the game, it doesn't seem too farfetched. Oh, and Aloth and Cera are around the same age, at least in my mind.**

* * *

As everyone's preparing to leave for the White March, a messenger from the Ducal Palace arrives - Cera's claim is being called into question, by a member of the Gathbin family apparently. Cera's look, of course, is absolutely dumbfounded - the place was abandoned for centuries until Maerwald claimed it, then may as well have been abandoned for some of the time he was master of the place! Who, for the gods' sake, would have a claim to it?!

Cera says "I guess a quick stop in the Ducal Palace couldn't hurt, right? Besides, then we can get a look at those records as well for Eder."

Eder says "Much appreciated. Stalwart can wait for one more day, right?"

"Well, Durgan's Battery likely doesn't have some magical day where it'll open for psychic Watchers, so I don't see why not."

They can't really argue with that kind of logic, so they set off for Defiance Bay.

* * *

When they get to the Ducal Palace, they're directed to the Records room at once - and Chancillor Warrin and Marshall Forywn are already there.

Cera has a quick word with the records keeper, and soon Eder's looking through the back pages of one incredibly thick book filled with rosters of the Saint's War. Cera, meanwhile, talks with Marshall Forywn and Chancillor Warrin.

They quickly learn that the person contesting her claim is known as Arledr Gathbin, descended from an old Aedyran line and a distant relative of a former master of Caed Nua - and as terrible a person as the come, no character to him whatsoever. He's not well liked among even his own family, for reasons that'll apparently become crystal clear soon enough, and part of a fallen house that made the mistake of siding with the Aedyr Empire rather than with the Dyrwood in the war for the Dyrwood's independence.

That's all there's time for when a man wearing green clothing and with sand-colored hair strides in arrogantly. It's practically pouring off him, Cera can sense it from here - Arledr Gathbin then, followed by an elven woman in a green hood. "Where is this low-born wretch who dares to try and steal MY ancestral land?"

 _Oh, not another one._

Aloth can hear her mental groan even from here, and gets a ghost-feeling of what she's sensing - she said she gets impressions of people just by focusing on them even a little, and what she's getting from him is arrogance and a cruel spiteful streak a mile wide.

Cera lifts her chin and looks Gathbin straight in the eye, saying "I'm the one that cleared out the spirits, Will O' Wisps, and massive spiders from the ground floor alone, along with repaired the Main Keep, Brighthollow, and have the Barracks under construction."

He eyes her with nothing but contempt, asking "You? I thought you nothing more than a servant. A maid, perhaps."

Cera's lips twitch into a thin, flat smile, but she doesn't say a word as Chancellor Warrin clears his throat and asks "My Lord, my Lady, may we please read the Erl's decree?"

"Yes, let's get on with it. It's well known that Caed Nua belongs to me by right."

 _Oh, just keep talking. Just like my parents, and suitor number five. Bets are a few bulls-eyes with my crossbow and a small demonstration of my Cipher powers would send you running as well._

Aloth gets a sudden flash of a memory of hers, she's shooting her crossbow in an immaculately maintained garden - she's supposed to be presenting herself and entertaining her latest suitor, but she'd rather take out her absolute frustration on a few targets instead of running the risk of projecting her feelings onto someone and causing another…incident.

A man dressed in finery as fancy and garish as her father makes her wear on the special occasions when she gets to go out into public comes around one of the hedges, preceded by an aura of arrogance and pride that she couldn't block out if she sandwiched her head between two pillows, and asks "Have you seen the Lady Cera, guardswoman? I'm looking for her - her father says she has a habit of wandering off at times, but that she's a rather charming girl nonetheless."

"You're looking at her."

 _Twang! Thock!_

Another bulls-eye, another crossbow bolt to reload.

He incredulously asks "You? You are the Lady Cera?"

"Yes, why?" She glances at him out of the corner of her eye for a moment, then aims the crossbow and shoots - another perfect hit.

The man is taking her in, her distinct lack of any kind of formalwear for one and the way she's methodically landing bulls-eyes every time she fires her crossbow. Her hair is down for a change and running down her back in long curls, and she's wearing a tunic and boots instead of the dress and slippers her mother ordered her to change into - she'd rather burn the dress and feed the slippers to the dogs.

He clears his throat after a minute, and says "Well, my lady, it seems we have gotten off to a rather bad start. My name is-"

"Lord Galre Keymr, only child and heir to the house of Keymr."

"Y-yes. Lady Cera Iden, I've been promised your hand in…how did you know that? Did your father tell you?" A bead of sweat rolls down his neck, as another 'Twang! Thock!' is heard from her crossbow.

"No, I'm never privy to who my next suitor will be until they arrive. Father has been looking for a way to cement the partnership between our houses, however. And what better way to do that then to marry them together, form one house?" Her crossbow bolt ignites with purple fire, summoned by her sudden anger at the idea that she's nothing more than her father's political pawn.

The arrow hits the target dead center and ignites it in the same purple fires, and then the man says "You…you're a…"

"Cipher, yes. That would be how I knew who would be my latest suitor."

"You're a freak! A mind-reading freak!" There's the sound of rapid, rather undignified sprinting, and then the memory ends as abruptly as it began.

Aloth shakes himself out of the memory, and then turns his focus onto Cera - still got the same smile he remembers having in the memory, thin, strained, and waiting for this to be over already - as the Erl's decree is unraveled. "The Erl has found that the Gathbin family's title was never relinquished, and as such Caed Nua rightfully belongs to Arledr Gathbin."

The human lord smirks triumphantly, and says "As is plainly obvious."

Chancellor Warrin says "I'm not finished, my Lord." He rolls his eyes and rolls his hand in a 'get on with it' motion. "However, the Erl fully recognizes Lady Cera's part in reclaiming Caed Nua, a site that has stood abandoned and some would say cursed for over two centuries. Lord Gathbin will provide compensation in the form of-"

"Absolutely not." Gathbin's face is a mask of fury, and he continues "I will not give this thief a single copper! Does the Erl think I am blind? That he can send a political statement like this?"

Chancellor Warrin raises an eyebrow, and says "My Lord, the amount is quite reasonable, and a requirement for the Keep to be returned to you."

Gathbin loses his cool at that, and balls his hand into a fist to strike the Chancellor - until he freezes, Cera's glare fully on him. He then collapses after a moment, his legs seemingly no longer working - and Cera's got a ball of purple fire in her hand, she must be using it on him to prevent any violence. "You dare…threaten me…with a…ball of fire? Release me at once!"

The elven woman eyes Cera carefully, taking her measure openly and unabashedly. Cera does the same, but extinguishes the purple flames incapacitating Gathbin at the Marshall's signal - a grateful signal, at that.

When the fires are out, Gathbin unsteadily rises to his feet and glares hatefully at Cera. "You shall pay for that, you wretch. Caed Nua will be mine! Captain Emery, come!" He marches out the door, the elven woman shrugging and following him after a moment.

Chancellor Warrin says "Thank you, Lady Cera, for your timely intervention. As Lord Gathbin rejected the Erl's decree, Caed Nua now officially belongs to you. Also, here. I believe this will be of use to you. Through no fault of your own, you've made a powerful enemy, I'm afraid. May this scepter serve you well."

It's a scepter made of pure sapphire, the only other decoration being a silver band in the middle where one would hold it. Cera looks at the scepter for a moment, then at Chancellor Warrin, then says "Thank you, Chancellor. This is much appreciated."

He nods, and then they head out of the room - after Eder puts the book back and tells them his brother really did fight for Readceras during the Saint's War for some reason, despite enlisting on the other side, and died at a place known as Cliaban Rilag. Cera promises they'll find the place and see if his soul is there - and then she gets an idea and runs back inside to ask Warrin something.

When she heads back out, she says "We're making a quick stop to Brackenbury first. Something I promised Aloth we'd do."

Eder asks "This about Iselmyr? Because I kinda like that woman - she makes good jokes, anyway."

Aloth's expression twitches in annoyance, and he says "They're a lot less funny when they nearly get you in trouble. Besides, there's no immediate need to-"

"Its right near here, and I said we'd go there! How about this, you and I go alone. Everyone else…"

She looks at them questioningly, and Sagani says "We'll be in Copperlane. The market, I'm thinking."

Pallegina says "Ac, that sounds agreeable to me."

Eder looks like he wants to complain, but then Itumaak sniffs at Sagani's hand and his attention turns to the white fox. "Sagani, does your fox bite?"

"Yes."

"Can I pet him anyway?"

"It's your hand."

"I'm gonna pet him!"

Aloth and Cera share a look, and Cera's voice sounds in his head _How hasn't he lost all his fingers yet? Itumaak is a fox and Sagani just said he'd bite!_

They hear a sudden yelp of pain in Eder's voice - sounds like Itumaak bit him.

Aloth quietly says "Thank you, Cera. You didn't have to-"

"I promised! And I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't try to help - and seeing as I don't want to accidentally make a manageable thing…unmanageable, this is the next best option." She pulls at his arm in Brackenbury's direction, and they head off.

Aloth notices the head of the scepter Chancellor Warrin gave her poking out of her bag, but doesn't comment - despite the fact that he's fairly certain she has no idea how to use a scepter other than to beat someone unconscious with.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, we've got that scepter - and one more arrogant lord to deal with. Anybody thinking Arledr won't make much headway in taking Caed Nua from Cera? Or _living_ in it? A: the place recognizes Cera as its new master and not him. B: the Master Below. C: everything said Master Below sends up to kill the new master of Caed Nua. At any rate, hope you all like the story so far! PS. my new puppy is a male Mini Australian Shepherd. We named him Bandit. And he's _ADORABLE!_**


	11. Chapter 10

When they get to the Brackenbury Sanitarium, maybe the most unusual thing about the place seems to be the talking statue. One of the odder things in Eora, but not nearly as dangerous as most of them - and not as unusual as it would be anywhere else, considering this place studies the soul. They get directions to head downstairs and look for a 'Bellasage' - shouldn't be too hard with Cera's powers.

They open a door to find about eight other doors - all closed - so Cera says "Hang on, I'll take a look." She closes her eyes for a moment, then points to the nearest door on their left. "She's in there."

When they open the door, there's a Vailian woman pacing the floor - until she nearly walks right into the two of them. "Eccosi! I am so focused I cannot see the Kith right in front of me!"

Cera says "We're looking for an expert on Awakenings."

"Ac, that would be me. Though my lack of subjects has made me more an expert of counting floorboards. I'd like to transfer Animancy's success in buttressing pre-Awakened souls to soothing those whose souls have already Awakened - but all the subjects here cannot produce reliable results, unfortunately."

"You're in luck, I've got a volunteer."

Aloth's eyes go wide in their sockets, but before he can even begin to protest - a lot - the woman is steering him onto a couch and ratcheting copper bands onto his wrists and forehead.

 _Cera, why would you think this is a good idea?!_

 _I'm thinking that you've got a chance with her, that's what I'm thinking. A chance to maybe get Iselmyr slightly more under control at least, if not gone._

He grumbles mentally, resulting in her laughter echoing through the mental link she made between them.

 _If something goes wrong, I'll stop it somehow. Deal?_

 _Deal._

Despite the fact that he'd rather be doing anything else. Despite the fact that she doesn't trust her own skills as a Watcher.

Bellasage tells him to talk about his past before his Awakening - there wasn't anything to tell, he was a normal child living in the Cythwood.

Bellasage is too busy fiddling with her ridiculous scope - couldn't Cera just do this herself without the copper and contraption? - to notice that he's neither relaxing nor talking about his childhood. Cera sits down next to him, and softly asks "What do you remember about your home?"

He closes his eyes, feeling a little less tense now, and says "Modest, quiet when mother is away - which is most of the time. Quiet enough to hear the clink of glass on wood, this is when I know to be most careful. Father is good about hiding the bottles. Mother, when she's here, is good about pretending to not notice them." He's remembering things now, details about the place that he'd almost forgotten. The way the place was always neat to the point of sparkling - his father always went into a rage when it got dusty or messy - or the view out the windows. Little details that didn't seem at all important at the time.

"Ac, good. Now, tell us of your Awakening." Bellasage's voice doesn't seem all that intrusive anymore, not when he can feel Cera's mind with his own thanks to her Cipher abilities - they really come in useful - and starts recounting what happened to bring Iselmyr forth. "Eccosi! He's hypnotized himself with this old memory!"

He feels a squeeze on his hand, and distantly hears Cera's voice says "It's fine, your safe." _Wake up, Aloth! Wake up, wake up, wake up!_

He can feel her worry pouring into him, and then Iselmyr responds to it. Now he's awake, but he's not currently in control. "He's nere safe when I hap upon him." _Iselmyr! Would you just stop it already?!_

"Eccosi! I'm seeing two distinct flares of essence! He seems to respond to you, keep going."

Another squeeze on his hand, and Cera says "Aloth, ask Iselmyr why she's here."

Now he's in control, at last, and says "Sticking weed. Worming parasite."

Iselmyr laughs and says "Ye'd say the same to yer own kindled twig when it betrays ye!"

Cera's hand on his tightens, and Bellasage exclaims "It seems that where one ebbs the other flows. This Iselmyr fills the gaps Aloth leaves empty."

Another flare of worry from Cera, though she tries to keep it from him - too late, Iselmyr felt it when he did. Her voice is steady though when she asks "Iselmyr, what exactly are you taking from Aloth?"

"Nye more than I'm givin'! Ye should ask whit I did that tha' auld man o' his. How I brek his hand in three places last time he laid it on us."

Aloth jerks his head to the side furiously, _away from Cera_ , and says "That wasn't your decision, it's never been your decision."

"Nye was Awakening, but now I'm stuck with ye and be damned if I let yer ninnying drag us both through the scupper!"

Cera's worry - worry for the _both of them,_ as she's never seen this happen - flares up once again, but Aloth manages to get Iselmyr under control long enough to get the copper bands off his wrists as Bellasage declares she finally has results to publish - namely that Iselmyr is the result of black bile, as she's supposedly concentrated around his spleen during the times when she's most present. The two of them may have had their arguments and disagreements, but both he and Iselmyr agree on this - that is utter horseshit.

When he says as much, Cera quickly intervenes before the Vailian woman can get too angry and says that Iselmyr appears when Aloth feels threatened or she determines there's a threat to his safety. _Finally, some common sense._

Bellasage says she'll have to check with her other notes but that Cera may be onto something - no kidding, of course she's onto something - when the elven Cipher starts rubbing her head. He whispers "Cera, something wrong?"

"No, just…a loud mind. Full of thoughts, full of feelings. Makes it hard to focus on the physical world sometimes." She closes her eyes and gets a look of concentration, and then Aloth notices Bellasage's notes on the table - and given all her nonsense, he really doesn't want his personal information published like this. While Bellasage is resetting her scope and Cera's rubbing her head, he quickly hides her notes - Iselmyr, for once, doesn't disagree with him.

Once the notes are hidden away, to be torn to pieces or burned late at night when everyone else is sleeping, he gets up and helps Cera to her feet - and when they get upstairs, there's a wealthy man talking with an animancer heatedly and somewhat arrogantly; Aloth can bet Cera can feel a lot more than the arrogance in his voice. No wonder she's having a hard time focusing through it.

* * *

When they get out of the building, Cera takes a few deep breaths and seems to recover her bearings.

"Are you okay, Cera?"

"Yeah, I'm…I'm alright. Most times I can handle other people's minds, but sometimes they're just a little too much. Makes for a decent headache when it gets too crowded in here." She gives him a weak grin and adds "But hey, it's a welcome distraction from my own thoughts at times. Sometimes I'll go seek some mental company when my own thoughts are too brooding. Might've done it a few times while traveling as a distraction from my own thoughts. And sometimes it came in handy. Like this one time I was being tracked down by some of the guards, they were thinking 'how hard could it be to find her? She's got to be the fanciest person in this place!' Too bad for them I'd already cut my hair and changed into traveling clothes. And I didn't give people my real name until I was out of Aedyr."

"So what did you call yourself, if not Cera?"

"Velanya. Velanya Fyrnwiga. Got a few stares, but it kept the guards from finding me."

Aloth chuckles, and says "Sounds effective, if nothing else. Wherever did you come up with such a name?"

"I spent a lot of time in the library, where there was only my own thoughts and the words on the page to take my attention. Read a lot of stories, learned a lot of names. I may have borrowed the names of two characters from completely unrelated stories."

Aloth laughs slightly harder, and then the sound of crackling paper comes through his cloak. He freezes, but Cera only give him a knowing look and asks "You ever hear of the Giftbearer tradition of throwing items connected to memories the owners would like to forget in the ocean?"

"Yes…"

"Something you'd like to forget?"

"The past thirty minutes, to be honest. Bellasage and her nonsense."

"Let's go, if we hurry we can get to Ondra's Gift in around ten minutes. Mind explaining why you took her notes?"

Aloth sighs, and says "I didn't appreciate her prying, not with all her nonsense. Removing my spleen solving my problem with Iselmyr, honestly why is she even an animancer if she thought a solution like _that_ would be viable?"

Cera doesn't say a word, and just pulls at his arm in the right direction.

When they get to an empty part of the pier in Ondra's Gift, he tosses the notes into the waters, dearly hoping they'll be swept away out into the bottom of the ocean. "Did you forget?"

Cera's looking at him half-expectantly, and he shakes his head and says "No, I didn't. Unfortunately. I am, however, glad Eder wasn't present at the Sanitarium. Whatever it is about Iselmyr that fascinates him, I'll never understand."

"Yes, I heard him suggest to Kana that they find a few wolves or bears or something and chase them to us, see if that got her talking - or cursing, as Eder seems to think Iselmyr knows a lot of them."

"Well…he's not wrong. I've learned plenty of very ancient curses in Hylspeak over the past fifty years. In varying degrees of insult. 'Coxfither' is one of the lesser ones."

Cera stifles a giggle, and says "I may have picked up a few over the course of my travels. Mostly when troubles arose, and then the curses were extremely colorful. Not that I'd use them most of the time."

He can see the mischievous twitch of her lips though, and says "I'd rather you didn't give Iselmyr a few lessons. Her language is already intolerable as it is, and she's in no need of more modern or foreign curses to add to the list."

"Right, got it." She's blushing though, Aloth can feel the her amusement traveling across to him.

"Oh, and I may have seen one of your memories while we were talking with one Arledr Gathbin earlier. I didn't mean to pry, but-"

"No, it's my fault. I'm usually better about not involving the minds of others with my own, but-"

"Cera, it's okay. I wasn't complaining, the mental link you set up isn't a bother or anything."

"Then…" Her look is one of total confusion, like she doesn't get why he'd mention it if it wasn't a problem - he can bet that's another thing her parents left her with.

"What I was going to say is I'd like to learn more about you. And…the mental link between us, is…"

Cera's eyes go huge when she realizes _that's_ how he saw her memory, and quickly starts apologizing - it would happen every so often where she'd accidentally connect with the mind of someone, and she'd always get yelled at when it was discovered. It hasn't happened in quite a while, usually only happened when she was stressed - what a surprise, she's stressed out lately.

She's working against the clock to not go insane, trying to track down the Leaden Key, and was dealing with an arrogant noble attempting to take away her new home - wonder why she'd be stressed.

She thought she set up the link when they went into the Sanitarium, and he can tell she's about to sever the link between their minds when he says "Cera, it's alright. I wasn't complaining. It's not a burden or anything. I was just wondering how it happened so easily is all."

"Usually a connection can form with someone you trust. Or…never mind. And such things can happen unconsciously when a Cipher is under a lot of pressure or has pent-up feelings and they find an escape. In this case, well, I'm fairly sure it was the latter." She's blushing so much that her face is almost as red as Kana's clothing, but mumbles "And, I'd…I'd like to learn more about you to. If you don't mind, that is."

"Not at all. I wouldn't mind at all."

Cera sighs and says "We'd better get over to Copperlane, otherwise they'll come looking for us eventually."

"Yes, Edér with more comments. We'd best be off then."

* * *

 **AN: Wonder what else could make a mental link form? Because Cera's doing it quite a lot with Aloth, intentional or not. How long until these two finally figure out what's going on? Read on and find out! Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming soon! New puppy is a lot of work, and absolutely adorable, and we're currently working on housetraining him! Given how much rain we get, that's a bit of a challenge as nobody really likes getting soaked to the bone in cold water. Please review! Suggestions appreciated! PS. will be doing WM 1 and 2, along with the Master Below. Enjoy!**


	12. Chapter 11

They get to the bluffs that overlook the sea near Defiance Bay, taking a detour when Eder realized he knew of a place that matched the vision Cera got from Sagani's bear figurine - as they went into the city to find someone that knew of somewhere matching the description and failed miserably the first time. When they get there however, there's nobody to be seen.

Cera says "This is the exact place. Sagani, can I see the figurine again?"

"Sure. Seems like we've made more progress in a few days than I've made in five years."

Cera's look spaces out again, and then she blinks after a few moments and says "An arch made of adra, in the middle of some woods, does that sound familiar?"

Eder says "They've got something like that out near Twin Elms, past Stormwall Gorge. We'll have to wait for the waters to die down though, been some flooding lately."

They look up to see the sun setting, and set up camp for the night there - there's nothing for it if they can't get over to Twin Elms, they'll just have to wait and track Persoq down when they can get over there. Setting up camp takes minutes with Sagani's help, she's had plenty of practice getting fires going in ice and snow, so the forests of the Dyrwood are no challenge to her.

They roll out bedrolls and settle down for the night, but Cera suddenly realizes Aloth's standing a few feet away and looking straight at her nervously - she doesn't know what for though. When he notices she's seen him, mainly because she gets up and walks over, he starts wringing his hands. "Cera, sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you. It's just, well, you seem a little preoccupied."

Cera raises an eyebrow, and says " _You_ seem preoccupied, Aloth."

He laughs uneasily, and says "Mad old Watchers, trying to track down a secretive cult and their even more secretive leader, what's not to worry about? I suppose I've just noticed you acting a little…unusual lately." Cera swears he's wringing each drop of sweat from his hands out from between his fingers, like he wants to rid his hands of every bit of moisture. "Remembering flashbacks of your previous life, talking to people that aren't there, I want to make sure you're doing alright."

Cera tries to lighten the mood some, asking "These symptoms sounding familiar?"

He gives a pained smile and says "You know me too well. But it does seem that our afflictions differ. Iselmyr asserts herself now and again, but that's nothing new. You though…you seem to be getting worse."

He tugs on a lock of his hair, until Cera puts a hand on his - taking him by surprise, he wasn't looking at her. "Aloth, I'm alright for now. We'll find Thaos, get some kind of answers from them. And then we can figure out what to do from there."

Aloth nods, and says "I shouldn't disturb you, looks like we've got another long day ahead of us. Aren't we heading to Stalwart tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We kinda got sidetracked with Gathbin, didn't we?"

"Speaking of which…" He pulls out a familiar scepter, all blue and with a silver band in the middle. "When exactly did my scepter get replaced with the one Chancellor Warrin gave you?"

"I thought it'd be of more use to you! I don't have any idea how to use a scepter, so…" She shrugs and adds "Besides, even I can tell its powerful. But what would I do with it? Put it in the treasury? Hang it on a wall?"

Aloth sighs, and says "You're not going to back down on this, are you?"

"No, not even a little."

"When did you even switch the two weapons out though?!"

"You were talking about your house back in the Sanitarium. Bellasage was cranking one of those knobs on the device she had, so she didn't notice. Besides, blue's kind of your color, not mine."

Aloth might not be able to sense Cera's feelings at the moment, since she cut the connection between them for the time being, but the many shades of red her face is rapidly turning tells enough of a story for him to guess at them. Aloth can't hide the slight blush creeping its way up his own face - seems it's a good thing Cera cut the connection for now - and says "Well, thank you, Cera. This will help in battles, if nothing else."

She smiles - good thing she cut the connection between them, he wouldn't know how to hide Iselmyr's prodding at him, his own feelings, and the way that smile makes his legs feel like lead - and then says "Plus you might be able to use it to fend off any of Eder and Kana's attempts at bringing _somebody_ out. Kana wants to learn Hylspeak, Eder wants to hear more of her jokes and possible curses."

"What exactly did you tell them?"

"Not much! Only that you two got to talking for a minute or two, but we didn't get much information from Bellasage."

Aloth sighs, and says "Soothing Awakened souls, what a hoax."

Cera cracks a grin and says "I'm fairly certain she did more aggravating than any soothing, to be honest."

It takes all of Aloth's willpower to not smile and laugh - because that shouldn't be nearly as funny as it is. "Indeed. We disagree often enough without anybody's help. And Bellasage was both annoying and rather useless. Next time, you take a look at my soul and give me a diagnosis - it'll be both more accurate and less hassle."

"Mm. I'll remember that."

They head back to the camp, where most everyone's fallen asleep already.

Aloth stays awake on his own bedroll for a few hours, staring at the new scepter he found on his belt shortly after leaving Ondra's Gift. Surprising at first, but now he doesn't know what to make of it.

Given the fact that she bought Eder a cloak that's supposed to help him in battle, she hasn't just gotten him items either - and the scepter itself was given to her rather unexpectedly, so it's not like she planned this or anything.

 _Lad, stop worrying o'er it._

 _Iselmyr, I swear…_

 _Lad, either it's a gift or its just more useful to ye than her. Either way, stop spinning yer head around in circles for a time. Ye might not want to get some rest, but I do._

Aloth puts the scepter down, and closes his eyes at last - only to open them to see Eder kneeling beside Cera and shaking her shoulders some hours later. "What's going on?"

"You think I know? I woke up ten minutes ago to find her like this! Shaking like this, saying stuff I sure don't understand, all of it! Come on, wake up, snap out of it!"

Her eyes are rolled up in the back of her head, she's shaking on her own, and mumbling stuff in a language he doesn't understand either. Seems she was bluffing last night.

Eder mutters "I swear, I'm getting ready to get a bucket of water to stop this. Think she'll be too upset if you vouch for me?"

There's no time to question, as Cera suddenly sits up with a massive gasp and looks around wildly. As Eder explains what was happening, Aloth simply looks away - she said she was doing alright, but now it seems she said that so he wouldn't worry.

He doesn't think about it - much - but she must sense his feelings anyway because she gives him a small smile. Pained and tired, but there nonetheless.

 _I'm alright, Aloth. Just a little shaken up is all._

 _You were SHAKING, Cera. Talking in what could only have been Engwithan. You said you were alright!_

 _I am, for now. I just focus on this life, it…helps._

He isn't convinced, she must know that - she _has_ to know that, she's psychic and can sense his feelings - but he lets the matter drop for now. Another wake-up like that however, and he might not.

Ever since she destroyed the tower on Heritage Hill, blew it up because the Acolyte most likely knew the words to work the thing so maybe all the Leaden Key does, he's seen her drawing Engwithan symbols in the dirt when they camp or she'll very occasionally wake up to a question and answer it in Engwithan. Not the most comforting of things, but Kana's been questioning her nonstop about it and she's trying to teach him. And Kana's trying to make it seem lighter than it might be - saying she could hide messages for them in broad daylight, for instance - but the thought that her new, or old perhaps, knowledge of Engwithan runes may well hasten her descent into madness bothers him incessantly.

* * *

 **AN: Hey, everybody! Another chapter up! And Cera's definitely getting worse, I combined two of the scenes you get when you rest sometimes - Aloth's scene and Eder's first scene. Anyway, hope you all enjoy! PS. some bad-ish news for me - I have to take summer classes! One of the requirements to get a college degree nowadays - nine credits over the summer terms! Joy. So chapters may take longer to be posted because I'll be doing lab reports and such - sorry! But enjoy anyway! More chapters coming soon! And I'm getting the Deadfire game on the summer sale - not long now!**


	13. Chapter 12

Kana comes out of the burning building carrying an unconscious woman, and the guy that stumbled out coughing maybe a minute before is now sitting on the ground. He sets her on the ground, saying "She's alive, for now anyway. I don't know what the smoke might have done, but…"

One of the villagers says "If we can wake her up, she should recover. Probably inhaled some smoke, so waking her up and getting her breathing deeper would be good."

Cera says "I think I can help." She stares at the unconscious woman's face for a minute, and then she sits upright and starts coughing harshly.

The villager starts pounding her back, and Cera herself is breathing hard for a minute before regaining her breath.

Kana curiously asks "What did you just do? Give her soul a jolt or something?"

"No, I used my Cipher powers. Yanked her back to consciousness. So…I guess you could say I gave her mind a jolt." She shrugs, her concerned expression fading as the woman is helped to her feet and heads towards The Gref's Rest.

Now that the panic over the ogres and the burning house is over, everything settles back into a calm of sorts - still on edge, but not outright frantic and panicking. And soon even that edge fades, as the people in the village turn their focus to what needs to be done to survive.

They head into Renengild's house, where they meet the aged mayor of the town and her son. They're in a heated debate - apparently over the ogre attack, as the son says they should make peace with another nearby clan. Renengild says they're all the same and can't be trusted, then notices the two of them aren't alone anymore. She gives them a warm welcome to Stalwart, then gets down to business about Durgan's Battery and the White Forge. She wants to get to the White Forge to bring business to Stalwart - because the place is dying, nobody comes way out here anymore. But if they could get to the White Forge, they could make Durgan steel - business would come, and the town would prosper.

When Cera asks about a group of strange people in robes that came through the area, they immediately know they came through the town - Renengild's look turns dark, and her son's posture stiffens. "Yes, they came through here. Barely asked any questions, didn't give their names, only stopped long enough for directions to the Battery and then just left. We all thought they'd been taken by Beregan's ogres, the Flames-That-Whisper clan - but seeing as Galvino lives up by the Battery…" her look turns even darker, and she finishes "maybe not."

Kana asks "Who's Galvino?"

Her son says "He's an animancer, from the Vailian Republics I believe. Can't say for sure, never met the guy."

Renengild glares at her son, and says "And what Uldric isn't mentioning is that he was run out of town a long time ago. Nobody in this town wants to see hide nor hair of Galvino again."

Aloth mutters "Why am I not surprised about that?"

Uldric says "He might be nobody's favorite around here, but he's also nobody's fool. He's lived in the Battery's shadow all these years, if anybody knows how to get in its him."

Cera says "Thank you for the information. Anything else we should know about?"

Renengild says "Yes, the ogre clan. According to Uldric, it's not the one that just attacked us. But still, ogres are ogres. The ones in Russetwood are called the Flames-That-Whisper clan. Its highly possible they got to the group of people you asked about, so finding them may give some results. And if you could deal with the ogres, one way or another, all of Stalwart would be grateful."

Cera nods and says "We'll figure something out, I swear."

"Thank you. If we can get into the Battery and re-ignite the White Forge, well, there'd be work enough for all of Stalwart. Business would come, even if we were in the White that Wends." She shrugs, suddenly seeming like she's carrying a burden that's too heavy to bear, but doesn't say anything else.

Cera says "We'll find a way, Renengild."

The elderly woman smiles, and says "Gods be with you."

* * *

They get into the chamber in the ogres' cavern home, having gotten the key from the dead ogre down below, and the five ogres inside turn to face them. The one in the middle must be Beregan, the ogre matron Uldric told them about. She takes a deep breath in through her nose and says "Smoke. Flesh. Fish. Stalwart."

The other four tense up, giant hands straying near their weapons, but Cera says "We didn't come to fight!"

That gives them all pause, and Beregan says "If you did, you'd have slaughtered my clan. Why did you come then? More adventurers seeking to breach the Battery in search of weapons to destroy us?"

All six friends share looks, and Cera finally asks "…What? What makes you think Stalwart wants to get into the Battery for weapons?"

"I have seen a great army marching across the White March. One that will destroy us. It happens if they get into the Battery."

"But Renengild just wants the White Forge so Stalwart will survive! They don't want weapons, they want business! They aren't looking to destroy anyone!"

Beregan eventually says "If what you say is true…" She closes her eyes for a minute, then opens them and says "It is rare for an ogre matron to betray her dreams. This is what's left of the last group of people that came from Stalwart." She points at a small pile of items in a corner, including some familiar robes.

When they take a look through them, sure enough they were Leaden Key agents. There's a few strips of speckleback jerky they had, a small tile in the shape of an anvil, and a journal - too bad there's no soul though, it could have been informative.

Cera flips through the journal page, then stops and quietly mutters an invective that she must've learned during her travels. "We're going to have to visit Galvino. Something about a Cantec, whatever that is, and how his information was a revelation even to them. And this tile came from the Battery door." She turns to Beregan and says "Thank you, Matron. Stalwart won't seek war with you or your clan. They're just looking to prosper, for their town to thrive."

Beregan nods her head after a moment, and says "Survival. The same goal as all others have."

* * *

 **AN: ALright, White March has started! Yes, I'm going to give them all the Soulbound Weapons, most of which happen to be found in the White March. Not going to be a hardcore completionist, sorry, but the story of the game is that you've got to find these guys before you go insane - that generally doesn't leave a lot of time for helping out a million people, no matter how much you want to.**


	14. Chapter 13

They get out of The Gref's Rest, and start trudging through the snow towards a group of people - Owynna is an option, but not one Cera wants to consider unless there's nobody else.

They have to Awaken the soul of a person that's a soul descendent of a Dwarf from Durgan's Battery. Owynna fits the bill, but her soul ancestor tried to sneak out with a load of steel - so either he was trying to steal it or he was running away. Neither of which are good options, honestly.

There's got to be someone else from the Battery, right?

Eder spots a house up in the corner of the village, just past Renengild's, and says "Don't think we've tried there yet. I know Awakening someone isn't really a good fate, but…"

Cera says "If we can find _anyone_ who's soul seems like it would turn out alright, well…" She closes her eyes for a minute, and says "I don't want to give anyone else my fate. Especially not with the Awakened memories being about something as bloody as the battle in Durgan's Battery. Owynna's soul ancestor was trying to escape from something. Something that terrified him beyond anything else. I don't think we know the full story of what happened to the Pargrunnen. I don't think they killed themselves." She shakes her head, then focuses on the house Eder pointed to. "There's someone in there. C'mon, let's go see who it is."

They get ten feet from the house, and Cera says "Her name's Taena. She used to work as the mine overseer until it collapsed."

Eder says "It is downright scary how much you know about a person before you even see them, you know that?"

"I get impressions, I can see other people's memories sometimes. Distracting at time, but useful at others - like when I suddenly know not to mention a particular topic to someone as it'll get them incredibly upset."

Aloth says "Fair enough. Let's go. Perhaps this woman will have a soul that won't result in a disastrous Awakening."

"Hopefully. We're running out of people to talk to."

Taena turns out to have a soul that can also tell them the Cantec they need - but she's also got some violent memories attached to her old name, Zenove. And at this point, they've basically run out of people to choose from - Taena or Owynna. Zenove was…very disciplined, the memories are of her making a group of doors defend a door from whatever was attacking them - it terrified them to no end, they wanted to head back down with the rest of the remaining dwarves.

Cera connects with Aloth's mind, and says _Looks like there aren't any good options, Aloth. Any suggestions?_

 _Can't you read her soul or something? Like you can with other people?_

 _Yeah, but this thing is set for the era Durgan's Battery was destroyed - that was an awfully long time ago. I could have to wade through three lives as a Xaurip before finding it!_

Aloth barely suppresses a bout of laughter, Cera might be exaggerating this just a little. Or maybe not.

After an hour of quiet debating - quiet so that the rest of the small town doesn't catch on that they have to Awaken the soul of one of two people - they finally decide to Awaken Zenove - because there aren't any good choices here, as hard as Cera was looking for one.

Cera sighs and rubs her forehead, saying "I'll go back inside. Kana, you've got a good memory - want to come with and write down the Cantec?"

"I'd love to! And perhaps I can ask a few questions of my own to!"

Twenty minutes later, the two come outside - Cera's got a relieved expression, Kana's got a rather disappointed one. Eder asks "Well?"

Kana says "We got the Cantec easily enough, keeping Zenove calm - more or less, she seemed a tense sort - but then someone had to go and make the ancient dwarven soul subside!"

"I had the chance to prevent something like my situation from happening to Taena, and I took it, Kana! Besides, it worked out well enough for Taena! She seems a lot more lively than before."

All four people let out relieved sighs, and Aloth can't help feeling slightly dizzy with relief - neither of them at all wanted to inflict an Awakened soul on someone, so this is as good an outcome as they could have hoped for. And Kana quickly jotted down the Cantec, so they have everything they need to find to get into Durgan's Battery.

Cera suddenly gets an idea, remembering the soul they found in the middle of the Russetwood - all they have to go by to find whatever book he hid from the person that killed him is a picture of a cluster of trees. Her description of the killer matched that of Ninagauth, one of the archmages in this generation - which means whatever the boy hid from the Archmage is likely important. She pulls out the map, and stares at it for a minute - then she breaks out into a massive grin and says "Whatever book the kid hid from Ninagauth, its right near the Battery! He drew the map while standing there, and it shouldn't take more than five minutes or so to find it!"

Kana asks "Your serious? A book prized by an archmage? I'd love to look through it!"

* * *

When they get to a cluster of trees, that vaguely resembles the low-quality drawing on the crumpled scrap of paper, Cera stops dead then breaks out in a sprint. In maybe a minute, she's over by the trees and takes the paper out to find where the 'X' is depicting. When she does, she starts digging around in the snow - and comes away with a thick book about the size of Aloth's Grimoire but many times thicker. "This has to be it!" She looks incredibly excited, like she's just found a holiday gift in hiding or something.

When Kana opens it, his expression turns to confusion and he flips through a few pages before saying "I can't make heads or tails of this!"

Cera looks at it, and immediately says "It's not in Engwithan. Sorry, can't help, Kana."

When Aloth takes a look, he's staring at incredibly complex spells. The diagrams alone would make most people either give up right then and there or cry from the sheer amount of work it would take to decipher them - it's an _Archmage's grimoire_ , why would it be easy? "They're spells. Highly complex ones to. May I see it?"

Kana hands it over at once, and Aloth starts at the beginning. He knows most of the spells in the front, which look like they were put there decades ago if not centuries, and stops at about the fourth level of spell difficulty. There's one spell there he's never heard of, which is dubbed 'Ninagauth's Killing Ray.' It's supposed to deal damage only to those you want to harm, enough irresistible damage to kill the target. Aloth can feel his eyebrows rising higher and higher into his hairline as he continues reading, some of these spells are beyond anything he's ever seen before - he's so keeping this book.

Cera's delighted laugh draws his attention though, as she says "Judging from your expression, I think you'll miss all of the Battery. You'll be too busy trying to learn as many of the spells in there as quickly as you can."

"This is an Archmage's Grimoire! I'm seeing spells in here that Ninagauth never released! Spells only he knows! Do you have any idea what-"

Cera says "We get it, Aloth! Your excited. Just like Sagani was excited about her new bow. Wait, there's…there's someone up there." She points north, where they can see the faint wisps of smoke traveling upwards. They all look at one another, and head over - five more minutes won't make a difference in the Battery.

Of course, as soon as they are in view, one armored individual shouts "More Giftbearers!" and they all spring into action.

Once all the mercenaries are dead, Cera asks "They thought we were Giftbearers?"

Pallegina picks up the greatsword the leader had, a marvelous weapon with only a finely-detailed feather pattern radiating from the hilt as decoration. When Pallegina grasps the sword hilt, there's a ripple of energy outward and then it's just gone. Pallegina looks at the sword curiously, then asks "Another of these weapons? If Aloth's is any indication, they certainly get stronger."

Kana asks "You'll keep it then?"

"I don't see that I have a choice, Amico. It appears to be bonded to me, much like Sagani's bound to her and Aloth's scepter bound to him."

Cera shrugs and says "They only get stronger, right? At least it looks sharp. And I heard two people in the Gref's Rest talking about this weird Estoc in Longwatch Falls, hidden behind a waterfall. Said it looked like no Estoc he'd ever seen before, thin and a shiny gray. Oh, and there were about five spirits guarding the waterfall."

Kana seems curious about it, and says "Well, after we head to Durgan's Battery, what say we make a stop at Longwatch Falls? I'm curious as to why spirits would be guarding an Estoc."

* * *

They get out of Durgan's Battery covered in soot, overheating from the White Forge, and Cera with a massively pounding head from freeing the souls of Durgan's Battery. The place alone was giving her some truly horrific visions apparently, long-lost battles and the terror and panic that the dead felt during them. If she wasn't already being slowly but surely driven insane each night from dreams from her ancient past, then she'd have started on that path inside the place.

They head to Longwatch Falls, and Aloth notices during the trip that she's not moving one arm much at all - and he only notices because it's the one closer to him. But its only apparent that she's actually hurt when they fight the spirits guarding the Estoc that's stuck in the ice and she uses one hand instead of two like she usually does.

Oh, and the Estoc is cursed - that'd be why it was in the ice apparently. Kana can't seem to let go of it, at least it's a better blade than the one he had. Wickedly sharp, and perfectly balanced as well. Kana looks at his hand, which is entirely unwilling to release the Estoc from its grip, and says "I suppose there are worse curses to have on a weapon - and I suppose there are worse weapons to be stuck with."

Eder says "True that. And what about the poem on the blade?"

Kana looks at it, then mutters "An agent of stone and whirling adra. Hm, I wonder what that could mean?"

Cera says "It might mean Cilant Lis. Where I was Awakened. 'Awaken your essence' - Cilant Lis fits the bill."

When they set up camp for the night, Aloth tries to take a look at her shoulder - she insists she's fine. "Cera, you can hardly move your shoulder by now. If it isn't wrenched, my hair will turn as bright as your clothes."

"I'm alright, Aloth. Besides, when we were at Hadret House, the Cipher I talked to shared all his knowledge of Cipher techniques - and one of them is for blocking pain. Its good practice." She gives a weak smile, and tries to prove her point by moving her arm some - she moves it about three inches before wincing and moving it back.

"Cera, you're a self-taught Cipher who mastered what techniques she could think of and what she heard from other Ciphers she met by chance."

"And this would be how I mastered those techniques. Same way a person learns how to cast spells or fight with a sword."

She's got a point - too good a point - but he says "Cera, don't tell me you got injured on purpose so you could practice."

"No, that last Forge Guardian caught me by surprise. Besides, you don't- I'm alright. I don't need to have everything just so."

Aloth sighs, Cera's unending desire to prove she's not like her parents or the people they keep trying to marry her off to is admirable at times and annoying at others. "No, but you do need to be able to use that crossbow of yours. Which typically requires both hands for accurate aim. And seeing as you couldn't move your arm much, that isn't really happening."

"I'll just sleep it off, Aloth. It's not a problem."

Another five minutes finally convinces her to let him bind her arm up - she gets to keep practicing trying to block the pain though, fair enough.

Aloth sometimes wonders if she realizes she's being as stubborn about things like this as she truly is - trying to prove she's not some spoiled royal like Gathbin, or some coward like the man her parents arrived with. Charming at times, frustrating at others. And right now he's not sure whether to be impressed by her determination to be better or aggravated by her sheer stubbornness and not saying anything when her arm is barely movable.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, we're finding some Soulbound Weapons now! Pallegina has St. Ydwen's Redeemer, and Sagani has Stormcaller. Kana just got the Grey Sleeper, and now Stalwart has access to the Battery. And Cera freed the souls in the Battery as opposed to binding them to the Forge itself or the cannons. Sorry I skipped through the Battery itself, but it'd have mainly been about a bunch of ghost-voices shouting about the battle that killed them and Cera getting endless visions of being slaughtered as the Pargrunen were. And those would have been some seriously graphic things, sorry. As it is, we can imagine Aloth getting excited about Ninaguath's Black Pages - official name of the book you find - and then Iselmyr nagging him about it. Enjoy! More chapters coming soon! Please review, comments and suggestions are always appreciated!**


	15. Chapter 14

Nearly three months goes by, spent figuring out how to reverse the curse on the Estoc - and solving each riddle only seems to make the weapon stronger, an added bonus - and continuing to repair Caed Nua.

They also traveled to Dyrford, found the site where Eder's brother, Woden, died and managed to find the top of a banner pole from the Readceran side. Woden touched it for an instant, which Cera used to then track his path from Gilded Vale - he made it as far as Defiance Bay, then took a very sharp turn in a beeline towards Readceras. Whatever his reasons though, whatever it was that made him stay, it was lost in a thunderous noise that was Waidwen's voice that left Cera with a pounding head for a good ten minutes and Eder extremely unsatisfied. No real wonder why, but it was also clear that Cera couldn't pull anything else from the standard topper but a massive headache.

The ruins, on the other hand, were a lot more informative - not for Woden's death, but for what exactly the Leaden Key is doing. There's another machine, like in Cilant Lis, and they used it exactly the same way. A few clinging wisps of one of the agents' souls revealed that the machines are being used to keep Waidwen's legacy going - _they're_ what's causing all the children to be Hollowborn, not a man who was allegedly possessed by Eothas. The effects of the machine were wearing off, a child a few miles away from Dyrford was born healthy, with its soul, so they had to perform the ritual again.

Everyone, Cera most of all, is horrified at the revelation - and Aloth comes a very close second to her. "Gods, _that's_ what I saw? And that's why all the children keep being Hollowborn? These people are truly demented!"

Kana says "If they even know what they're doing when they activate the machines."

"These guys did, at least. They knew what they were getting into and what it would mean for Dyrford and the surrounding area." She sounds absolutely disgusted by these people, and no wonder - they're deliberately bringing so much grief onto the Dyrwood, knowingly doing it.

Aloth quietly says "Everybody thinks it's the gods punishing the Dyrwood for Animancy, or the work of Animancers themselves…"

Cera quietly says "These people are disgusting." Her utter loathing is pouring out of her for a minute, but then she reins it back in and they can't feel it anymore - she's getting good at that. She rubs her temples for a moment, then says "Let's get out of here. Before any Glanfathans find us trespassing." They all agree, the new knowledge of what they just witnessed putting everyone in a sobering mood to say the least.

* * *

They head back to Dyrford, where they get stopped by some guards. "Have any of you seen a young elven woman named Lady Aelys? She's missing and her father is deeply worried."

Cera shakes her head, mustering up as much politeness as she can, and says "No, I'm sorry. Not that we know of, at any rate. What does she look like?"

They give a description, but they sadly haven't seen her anywhere. They're pointed towards the inn, where Lord Nestor Harond is waiting for any news.

When they get inside, everyone just wants to get a room and rack out for the night - however, they're approached by Aelys' father. Cera quickly says "We haven't seen Lady Aelys, sorry. We could help search for her, though."

He agrees, and gives them their reasons for traveling through the village - it's a rest stop on the way to Eina's Rest. Cera freezes for a split second, her expression flitting to one of shock for the briefest instant before falling into a polite mask. She says she'll start looking for Lady Aelys right away, then gestures to the others to meet her outside the inn. When they do, she looks around to make sure there aren't any guards before quietly telling them just what she heard from Nestor Harond's mind: Aelys isn't his daughter, she's his niece - and she's carrying his child, the real reason he's so worried and why they're traveling so far away from Defiance Bay.

Everybody's horrified, Pallegina and Sagani in particular, and Cera says "I'll find her tonight, somehow. See what _she_ wants to do. Because I seriously doubt she wanted to carry her uncle's child."

She looks every bit as disgusted and loathing as back in the ruins, and Aloth says "I'll come with you, Cera."

Cera shakes her head though, and says "No, get some sleep. Everyone's dead on their feet."

Eder says "Then that would mean you're the worst off, considering how many times _I've_ woken up to find you awake and practicing with your crossbow."

Cera shrugs, and says "So I'm an early riser lately." They can see they won't change her mind on this, so they all reluctantly agree to head back to the inn - all except Aloth, who won't change his mind either.

They go to Hendyna, who says she saw Aelys talking with Trygil. Trygil gives them a story about being in the woods with Aelys when an ogre interrupted them - his thoughts however, tell quite another story. A Skaen cult, kidnapping Aelys, and a secret temple with two entrances - one in Trygil's Curriery, the other out in Dyrford Crossing.

The two elves instantly decide to go to Dyrford's Crossing, for some incredibly obvious reasons, and they quickly find the statue that is hiding the temple entrance. A few moments and Cera has the lock picked and they're in. And then, it's only a few fights with some Skaenite devotees and another door before they find a pool of blood with a bunch of people dead of blood loss and posed like they killed themselves.

Aloth mutters "Now that's…devoted, I suppose you could say."

Cera mumbles "Their essence is there. It feels…angry. But maybe I can get some answers from them." She focuses on the pool for a minute, then puts a hand to her head for a moment. After a moment, she says "They're in there. Doing something to Aelys." She points at a door, and they head in - just as a man is helping a young elven woman out of a chamber.

It ends up being a fight when Cera frees Aelys from the vengeful essence infusion that would have made her kill her entire bloodline starting with her uncle. Aelys ran for cover in a small corner, Cera fell to the ground and held her head in agony, and Aloth quickly cast one of the spells he learned from Ninagauth's grimoire - the one called Ninagauth's Killing Ray. An appropriate name, as it kills all the Skaenite priests that it passes through.

It takes maybe ten seconds for everything to settle down, and then Aloth kneels beside Cera and asks "Are you alright, Cera? What happened?"

"Ngh…freed Aelys. It hurt though." She's holding her head in both hands like it may or may not crack open, this is why Aloth insisted on coming with her. He cups her face in his hands and tilts her face up so he's looking into it, then let's out a small breath and helps her to her feet. She stays upright at least, though she stumbles once or twice.

Aelys finally comes out of her corner, and hesitantly asks "Are you alright?"

Cera smiles and says "Yeah, head hurts is all. What about you?"

Aelys looks at herself, making sure she's got all her fingers and such. When she presses a hand to her stomach however, her look turns to confusion and worry.

Cera grimaces and says "Trust me on this, Aelys. You _don't_ want to remember."

She nods after a moment, and then asks "What should I do now?"

Cera says "Hit the road, go where it takes you. That's what I did for a while."

"And then?"

"And then I managed to be in the wrong place at the incredibly wrong time for about two hours. The caravan I was with was attacked by Glanfathans who thought we trespassed, and then I found a group of people doing some ritual on the other side of said ruins after being forced to take shelter in them from a biawac."

Aelys winces in sympathy, and says "Thank you for the advice. I'll…I'll take it."

* * *

They get out of the ruins, and Aelys bids them farewell before leaving. They make it about halfway to Dyrford before Aloth decides they should rest - Cera's stumbling and nearly tripping every other step, they'll never make it back before sunrise anyway.

And the guilt that's been eating away at the Wizard since they discovered the fact that the Leaden Key has been causing everything to do with the Legacy and would go so far as to turn an entire district of innocent people that had done nothing wrong into a shambling horrors is getting too much to bear - he's got to tell her.

She doesn't know, she'd have _reacted_ in some way - he could sense her appall, disgust, and pure horror back in Cliaban Rilag, a mirror of his own feelings, and the knowledge of what the Leaden Key is really doing is driving him crazier than Iselmyr does sometimes.

 _Lad, if your gunnae tell her, then tell her already._

Iselmyr has a point, there isn't really much point in putting it off until they get back to Dyrford.

Cera's exhausted voice pulls him out of his extremely troubled thoughts, asking "Tell me what?"

Aloth blinks, and opens his mouth - she quickly says "I wasn't reading your mind or anything, I swear. It's just…everything's really loud at the moment. And I'm too tired to block it all out. Freeing Aelys wasn't the easiest of things."

She rubs her head and he says "Cera, there's…there's something else I should have told you about myself. Something I didn't really know the implications of until earlier today." He can see he's got her full attention - no turning back now. He takes a deep breath, and says "I'm a member of the Leaden Key, or was anyway."

The shock that slams into him through their connection is like Minoletta's Concussive Bolts for all the intensity - hard, strong, and as heavy as a pile of bricks. He hurries on before she can say anything, and says "At the end of my training in the Academy, I was introduced to the organization by one of my instructors. After seeing several of my colleagues abandon their studies in favor of animancy - and the disastrous results it had - I was convinced that the unchecked spread of it was a terrible mistake. And the Leaden Key was clearly opposed to it. They could guarantee posting far away from the Cythwood and my father, and…and it was enough, at the time. Their rules were strict, but their guidance was clear. I came to the Dyrwood a little over a year ago, honestly believing they were trying to stop the Legacy. My orders were to gather information about Animancy in the region, and eventually I was sent to Gilded Vale to report on events surrounding Raedric. I met with a senior member of the Key to give my report and get new leads, but I lost track of her shortly after arriving in Gilded Vale. I don't know if she was reassigned, killed…or maybe sacrificed in the way you witnessed. Either way, I'd been on my own for some months by the time you arrived in Gilded Vale. I needed some kind of direction, but after that scrape with the locals I was ready to get out of town - and then you said you survived that biawac, and I thought maybe you could put me back on the Leaden Key's trail. And, well, you did - but I never thought for an instant that it would lead us here! Causing the Legacy, causing the disaster at Heritage Hill, I never had any idea of what they would do! I knew they opposed Animancy, but I never knew they'd resort to something like this!" He wouldn't blame Cera in the slightest if she read his mind to see if he was telling the truth - he almost wishes she would, so she'd know he was telling the truth - but she's just giving him that shocked, wide-eyed stare, she must be feeling his emotions though - a torrent of regret, guilt, and massive amounts of apology.

Finally, she blinks after a minute, and says "Let me get this straight. Your apologizing for stuff that happened before we even met, that you did because you honestly believed that you were helping a cause that was trying to protect kith from their own folly, an organization you joined because you wanted to be far away from the monster your forced to call your father…and you think I'd be mad about that? That I'd be mad you wanted to get away from him by any means necessary? That I'd be mad you were trying to keep kith safe from what is in reality a subject that carries some heavy risks?"

Aloth lets out a massive breath all at once and asks "Your…you're not…"

"Mad? No. I'm a bit upset that you didn't just tell me your reasons for wanting to find them, but it's not like I told you everything about myself either! My parents, for instance! Or how they kept trying to marry me off to people I hadn't even met before! Or the fact that I saw a Leaden Key ritual and survived what two other people beside me didn't!"

"How are you not feeling, I don't know, betrayed or lied to entirely or-"

"Aloth, you didn't have any idea about what the Leaden Key was doing. You thought they were trying to stop the Legacy, not cause it! I might've been reading the minds of all the other members in the catacombs, and literally none of them had any idea about anything other than what they did on their mission. Lady Webb said they weren't told anything about missions they weren't in on, and sometimes they aren't told things about the missions they _are_ on!" She suddenly grabs her head with both hands, moaning "Ohhh…"

Aloth's by her side in an instant, leaning her into his chest so he can look at her head. "Remember when I said freeing Aelys wasn't easy?"

"Yes. Why?"

"It was hard. Really hard. My head's been pounding ever since."

He doesn't find any lump on her head or anything - freeing Aelys might've given her a concussion. She lets out a massive sigh as he starts combing through her hair looking for any injury, and says "Keep going…" He chuckles and does exactly that, but after a minute she asks "Will you tell them?"

"Yes, I suppose I'll have to. I'm still amazed you don't hate me or want me gone."

"Aloth, I want you beside me. You joined a group you thought was good, and it turns out it wasn't. You made a mistake, big deal. Everybody does at some point!"

"Let's go to sleep for now. Given how exhausted you are, you might actually be able to sleep for a change."

Cera nods, waiting for Aloth to finish with her hair before laying down for the night. And then she wakes up frantically the next morning, saying "We've got to go back to Stalwart!"

* * *

 **AN: Alright, sorry for the massive waits on all my stories people! Forgot to say that I'm currently on vacation in Missouri - haven't actually had time to write much or post anything. Please be patient, will be back home by the eighteenth. As for the story, Aloth's finally figured out what exactly it means to be a member of the Leaden Key - and its so far from what he thought that he can't even see it. Did some reading, and he went to the Dyrwood believing that his reports were being used to help try to stop the Legacy, not monitor it for signs of weakness to shore up or anything like that. And seeing as he lost contact with the organization, he basically isn't one of them by the time you meet him.**


	16. Chapter 15

As expected, nobody's overjoyed with Aloth's revelation - Pallegina looks like she's seriously considering actually killing him, while Sagani and Eder take it in stride and Kana starts bombarding him with questions of all kinds.

Once Aloth finally bribes the rabid historian with some sentences of Hylspeak written for him, Cera tells them about the vision she got last night of a massive army coming through the White March and crushing the entire Dyrwood. That certainly gets everyone's attention, and they quickly agree to head straight back to Stalwart at once after letting Lord Harond know Aelys isn't coming back. As expected, the man is furious until Cera hints that she knows exactly what was going on and why they were really traveling - he quickly pays her and leaves.

They head for Caed Nua on the way to the White March, and are met with none other than Kolsc - Lord Raedric's cousin, and the guy that is trying to overthrow him. His child was indeed Hollowborn, as the entire town was so afraid of, and it seems to have pushed him over the edge of what sanity he had left. He's been sending out more guards, having them search the town for anyone he thinks is worshipping Eothas in secret.

Eder snorts and says "He might be a little embarrassed about all that if he hears the Leaden Key is behind the Legacy."

Kolsc says "If what you say is true, all the more reason to stop Raedric before he destroys all of Gilded Vale. The Legacy is no fault of the people's, and his sanity has snapped like a twig after his son's Hollowbirth. Ygrid, his wife, I've heard is no more. And his son, though Hollowborn, was alive - no longer though."

Cera grimaces and says "Wonderful, really. Anything else about the clearly insane Lord Raedric we should know about?"

"Yes, as it happens. He annexed the lands west of the keep some years ago, Magran's Fork and the Black Meadow. He never made any indication that he'd put it to any kind of use however. I've talked with the Duc of Defiance Bay, and he assures me that it is apparently legally yours as the Gathbin Family claim was never released until recently - released to you, due to the current lord's pride and arrogance I believe."

Cera smiles thinly and says "Yes, that about covers it. And before you ask, yes, we'll figure out some way of stopping Raedric. However, there's another threat to the Dyrwood, and it's not the Legacy - an army marching from the White March and destroying the entire area. Defiance Bay, Caed Nua, all of it gone."

He pales, and immediately, earnestly, says "Yes, of course, Please, find a way to stop that army! In the meantime, we'll evacuate what's left of Gilded Vale out of the town, do you have any suggestions for where they may stay?"

Cera immediately says "Why not here? I've been restoring the place, after all. Why not let the innocents under his increasingly unstable rule shelter here?"

"That…that would be…I can't begin to tell you how much that would help! The town was never very big to begin with, and now there aren't that many people left from them, Tautanu, Aufra, and Trumbel and his family mostly, so they won't take up much room or be any inconvenience to the guards…" Kolsc seems dumbstruck by Cera's act of kindness, and says "I'll get the rest of the people together, bring them here. And, oh yes, the Duc wrote this treaty up. It officially recognizes you as the Roadwarden of Caed Nua. It also proposes that you take possession of the Black Meadow, leaving Magran's Fork in the Thayn of Gilded Vale's care once I become the Thayn."

He pulls out a rolled up parchment, and Cera agreeably says "Half and half, fair enough. As soon as we're back from the White March and the Dyrwood is safe, I'll find a way to deal with Raedric."

"I may have a way for you to get inside fairly easily - the sewers. I grew up in the Hold, know it well. There's an old gate in the side of the wall, has always been loose and rusty. It leads to the sewers that run underneath the place. There's an entrance that'll put you near the throne room, where you can deal with Raedric somehow. Likely with bloodshed, I'd imagine. Once he's gone though, the mercenaries guarding the hold will have no reason to fight - they have no real loyalty to Raedric after all. His local support was hung when he started the hangings in earnest, hanging people if they so much as looked at the ruined temple, for instance. Or for watching the sun rise. He'd cure Gilded Vale of the Legacy by ensuring there's none left to be afflicted by it." Kolsc shakes his head in despair, but doesn't say anything else.

Cera says "Get all the remaining villagers to Caed Nua as soon as possible, Kolsc. Once we stop this mystery army, we'll stop Raedric."

Eder nods, saying "Man's gone too far. Time's long since passed that he either stop the hangings or stop ruling."

Kolsc nods, and says "We are fortunate to have a Roadwarden who understands responsibility. And kindness. Again, I thank you on behalf of what's left of Gilded Vale."

Cera signs the document, which was completely forgotten about, and then everyone gets ready to leave again while Cera confers with the Steward - who will immediately start preparing to have the land returned to them, which will take quite some preparation apparently. Soldiers to hire in order to defend the lands, etc. There's also the matter of taxes to collect - at least the keep will have a source of income other than what they can sell after nearly dying in fights once Raedric is dealt with.

Cera starts on the restoration of the hedge maze, which is somehow supposed to protect that corner of the keep grounds - Eder jokingly points out the fact that if they can't figure out to keep turning left then they weren't going to be much trouble anyway.

After that, they start making their way to Stalwart.

* * *

 **AN: Alright! Next chapter is here! And we're into WM2! How exactly are they going to stop the mystery army - and Raedric? Keep reading! PS. starting summer classes now, updates on all stories will lengthen - sorry, but its a requirement to graduate. Anyway, enjoy the story!**


	17. Chapter 16

When they get to Stalwart - at least this time there's no blizzard to trap them under an overpass for shelter for three days - they find a veritable riot going on, a tense, angry, noisy one. One man is standing above the rest on a rock, and is talking about a group of delegates sent out a week ago that never came back from negotiating with some army called the 'Iron Flail' from Raedceras.

The crowd gets louder and angrier, and it looks like they're all about to come to blows when Cera lets out a shrill whistle to get everybody's attention. They all look angry at first, then it turns to relief in mere moments when they recognize the whistler. There's a million 'thank the gods!' and 'we're saved!' coming from the crowd - audibly and via their thoughts - but Cera says "Everybody calm down, and somebody calmly and rationally tell me what's going on here!"

They all nod, and the man up on the rock says "Stalwart got a flood of business and new blood shortly after you opened the White Forge - myself included - three months ago. But around two weeks ago, some army from Raedceras called the Iron Flail showed up. Demanded we give them the White Forge. We told them to shove off, go back up north. They did, about a mile north of the Battery - they set up a fort there, are likely building siege weapons even now. We sent a group of delegates up to negotiate a week ago, they never returned."

Cera nods and says "Ok, something we can work with. Missing delegates, a small army that set up camp near the Battery. We'll solve this."

There's a collective sigh of relief, a massive wave of it that could sweep Cera away if it was a wave on the ocean, and the crowd disperses. Deryan, the man that was on the rock, climbs down and points them towards an emporium that got set up where Keydy's house used to be - the woman Kana saved from the burning hut three months ago. When they get in there, it's a lot warmer than outside for one - that tends to happen when there's a roof over your head though - and its full of items to buy. Weapons, armor, potions, you name it, it's there - apparently, anyway.

Aloth notices the most unique crossbow he's ever seen - it fires two bolts before you need to reload it. Cera hasn't noticed it - but he's just found something to repay the gift of the incredibly powerful scepter she gave him. Cera herself is busy looking at some armor with Sagani - who with Pallegina has been insisting more and more that she actually wear something that can protect her even a little, as regular clothes don't - and hasn't even noticed the crossbow. He quickly buys it, hiding it in his bag for later - how he's going to surprise her with it is another question entirely though.

And that would be when he looks over at Cera and finds her looking at a beautifully decorated robe - even Iselmyr's voice doesn't really jar him back to any kind of motion.

 _Lad, get a hold o' yerself! Either tell the lass how ye feel, or stop daydreaming about how she'll look in tha' robe!_

He can't make a response, his brain is melted like somebody used the Fan of Flames spell on it - he's stuck on the image of Cera in the robe. Given the sheer amount of times he's sat up with her late at night, either because she woke him by accident in her sleep or because he was staying awake with his own thoughts, they've gotten close - shared jokes, memories of this life for both of them, Cera once even connected his mind to hers and thought of a song one of the servants used to sing to her when she was very young. That particular memory is so old she can barely remember the words, but the tune and the tone of the voice is clear as if it was yesterday. She usually falls asleep at that point, unsurprisingly enough.

But if she sees his daydream of her in that robe, he'll likely die of embarrassment - surely she sees him as just a friend and no more, and she's got a lot bigger things to worry about than his feelings!

 _Lad, yer torturing yerself here. Grow a pair. One way or another. Get some kind o' answer!_

He'd normally tell her to shut up, right now his brain is still struggling to form any coherent thoughts.

He can hear Iselmyr grumbling even now, but it's when Eder elbows him in the ribs a little harder than necessary that he finally looks away from Cera's form. "Been around long enough to know that look, Aloth. And I've been around the both of you long enough to know you've been casting them at her more and more as this adventure goes on. When exactly are you going to get on with it though?"

Aloth's mind immediately turns to a conversation he heard between Eder and Pallegina - he asked if her feathers were really a blessing from Hylea, then said people in Gilded Vale would immediately assume the dad got frisky with the hens. _If that's what he's talking about…_ Aloth drags Eder over to a corner - one as far away from Cera as possible - and quietly hisses "Eder, I am not looking to take advantage of Cera. Especially not when we're going against the clock trying to find the Leaden Key and keep her from going as mad as Maerwald! By all the gods, get that particular idea out of your head - because if Cera sees it, I'll die of mortification and so will she likely!"

Eder's smirk screams 'I knew it!' loud and clear, and he says "I'll make sure not to think about it around her. But, your point is also my point. Not a lot of time to say the things you should. My advice, say them now before she's gone for good."

The thought makes Aloth's stomach drop into his toes, and his heart follow shortly after, then he realizes Eder's probably thinking of Woden. That helps his racing heart a little, right up until Cera's voice suddenly sounds right behind Eder's back asking "What's wrong?"

Both men jump, and Aloth says "Nothing, Cera. Just talking, is all."

Cera's eyebrow climbs into her hair line, but she spares him embarrassment and awkwardness by asking "About the Raedcerans? Eder's fought them in the past - maybe not these guys specifically - so he'd know at least some of their tactics. Or I could just mentally scout from a distance, find out if the diplomats are even still alive."

Eder says "They weren't real big on taking prisoners back in the Saint's War - course, they were led by a homicidal lunatic claiming to be a god, so I don't know if that's typical or just what was commanded." Eder shrugs, thankfully saying nothing about what the two were _actually_ talking about. He does cast a wide-eyed look at Aloth when Cera turns back around though, responded to with a glare from Aloth - why, for the gods' sakes, is he trying to play matchmaker here?!

Aloth pinches the bridge of his nose - as Pallegina pointed out, you can always trust a farm boy's mind to go there first. And then Cera is suddenly in his mind and says _Guys, I'll be right back. Got something a little warmer than the stuff from the rest of the Dyrwood. Given the fact that its year-round snow here, right along with three months of the year for the rest of the Dyrwood, probably a good idea._

Pallegina blinks, then lets out a snort of laughter and says "She is full of surprises, our Watcher friend. At least we know she hasn't been kidnapped by any Leaden Key agents."

Sagani says "And she won't get frostbite. I bought one of the thicker skins last time we were here - must've gotten soft with the warmer weather up here."

Aloth is wondering what exactly she picked out to wear in lieu of her Dyrwoodan outfit, then notices an empty spot on the rack she was at before - and one less decorated robe. And of course, she comes out wearing the robe she was looking at before - his chances of not making a fool of himself in front of her have just, as Iselmyr would put it, been 'scuppered.' Whatever that means, he's not entirely certain but knows for sure it means something like screwed. He quickly exits the emporium before she can notice his face is quickly turning as bright red as Kana's brigandine - Iselmyr's comments _definitely_ aren't helping right now though. At least outside he can say the redness is from the cold.

"You know, I know a friendship turning into more takes some time, but considering the distinct 'race-to-find-the-Leaden-Key' constraint so she doesn't end up like Maerwald has been described to me, you might want to speed it up just a bit."

Aloth jumps nearly a foot in the air - it's a good thing spells have to be activated with the Grimoire! - and turns around to find Sagani standing there. "You nearly just gave me a heart attack, Sagani!"

"Hm, sorry 'bout that. But you didn't mention anything about what I just said. It's Kallu and I all over again, but you two don't have the luxury of getting to know each other all your lives. Or having all your lives to get to know each other, at the moment." He darts a glance at the tent he's about twenty feet from, and Sagani says "Relax, Cera's still inside. And no, nobody's told her about what _all the rest of us_ can see clear as day."

Aloth relaxes, and says "Thanks for that. So why are you out here?"

"Because you're out here. Because your trying to play off the redness in your face that's the color of a fresh deer flank off as being from the cold. And because your face turned that shade of red when Cera walked out in her new outfit that's got to be a thousand times warmer than what she's been wearing through the Dyrwood. My husband and I were friends years before we were married, but given the circumstances you may want to rethink that particular idea."

"If she feels the same way about me," - why in the world is her eyebrow raised that high? - "then I can court her after we save her sanity and stop the Leaden Key. If she doesn't," - Sagani, please wipe the incredibly amused and shocked look off your face - "then she doesn't and I'll still have helped her save the world and make up for my mistakes."

After a very long silence on the dwarf's part, she finally says "Your both clueless sometimes, you know that right? She clearly doesn't know because she was looking around the room for you. And given how its plainly obvious that she tries to keep her mind…well, in her head, I guess you could say, she has no clue of your feelings for her. Despite the hundreds of looks you've given her when she's not looking, despite how you always immediately try to help her - no matter what it is, be it her nightmares or when she's overwhelmed by the people around us, or when she's had another vision."

Aloth groans softly and asks "Is it really that obvious?"

Sagani pats his arm sympathetically, and says "I won't tell you if she's head over heels for you, but I will say this. You've been getting looks of your own from her when you're not watching. My advice? Gather up every bit of courage you can muster - ask Iselmyr for some help if you really need to - and do something about the whole thing. Because watching you two pretend you either don't have feelings for each other or that the _other_ doesn't feel the same way is getting maddening for me at least."

Pallegina comes out first right then, with everyone else in tow, and says she's curious about the cannons Deryan mentioned. And then Eder says "Aloth, I think you dropped this back in the Emporium." and tosses something to him.

The Aedyran Wizard catches the small item out of the air easily, then opens his hand to find it's a ring very similar to the one Cera gave him back in Defiance Bay - silver-looking and with a ruby instead of a sapphire, but with the same kind of enchantment as the first on it. Eder's smirk at him tells him _exactly_ who bought it for him - because of course it isn't his! - as if Cera's absolutely mortified expression wasn't enough of a clue.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, next chapter is up! Gotta write a Lab Report, so that's definitely going to keep any updates and chapters a little slow. Sorry! At any rate, hope you like the chapter! Cera and Aloth have no idea about each other's feelings, but at least Aloth has a very clear idea of his own - and given the fact that his in-game character seems like he wouldn't trust anyone with his secrets - Iselmyr, mainly, as he didn't seem to have any clue what the Leaden Key was really doing - he probably wouldn't want to screw things up with his closest friend in Eora. Am totally planning on getting the two of them _actually_ together before the end of the story, but be patient for a bit! Enjoy! More updates coming! reviews appreciated!**


	18. Chapter 17

Aloth casts a wary glance at the lift - there's no way that thing is safe to use. Unfortunately, it's the only way up to the top of the tower with the heavy cannons. The chains are incredibly rusted - even with the rust remover they poured all over them, which left some very disgusting puddles on the lift floor - and one journal details a series of accidents that happened on the lift. Result: the lift can't seriously be all that safe a few hundred years since its last operation.

Eder puts a foot on the thing, everybody wincing when it when it creaks ominously, and Cera says "There's no other way up…why couldn't the dwarves have just made a set of stairs somewhere in here?" Aloth agrees, even with the entry that mentioned bringing supplies up on the lift.

Pallegina says "Ac, there's nothing for it. No use putting it off." Did he just imagine the Avian Godlike glancing at him out of the corner of her eye for a moment?

They all file on, staying in the middle of the platform for some incredibly obvious reasons, and Eder pulls at the lever to start the lift. They all cover their ears when the lift lets out a painfully high screech, the chains protesting being used after so very long, and it starts lifting them up towards the top. There's another screech - but this time it isn't from the lift, it's from Skuldrak!

They all dive to avoid the spray of the poisonous gases the things breath, but Aloth tumbles by accident and nearly rolls off the edge - he grabs it just in time, and looks up to find a large Skuldrak looking down at him. It bares its teeth, then its look zones out and it slams itself into a wall hard enough to knock itself out - why would it do that? A pair of hands grabs his and yanks him up, and then he lands on top of the person who just rescued him - Cera.

It takes him a minute to realize the position they're in, a minute in which he's dearly tempted to kiss her right then and there, and he quickly scrambles off of her, his face turning as red as her new robes - at least Cera's face is turning at least as red. Then she looks over his shoulder and whips her crossbow up and fires. He flinches, then realizes the crossbow bolt went _past_ his head and embedded itself in the head of another Skuldrak.

Sagani says "That looks like the last of them!" Kana sheathes his Estoc, then looks over and asks "What happened to you two?" Because Cera's sitting on the ground with her crossbow pointed in Aloth's direction and he's kneeling next to her - and both their faces must be bright red if not just simply glowing in the near-total darkness.

A stammering explanation out of both of them details how Cera saved Aloth from falling to his death and getting eaten by two Skuldrak - and both their faces must be enough to light up the entire shaft of the lift.

Iselmyr's annoyance and disbelief grates on Aloth's nerves, and she irritadedly says _Lad, yer hopeless. Next time, kiss her!_

 _Shut up, Iselmyr! Before she hears you!_

Because he will definitely die of mortification and embarrassment if Cera finds out his feelings from _Iselmyr_ of all people.

 _Lad, she'd better find ou' eventually. An' if not because of ye, I'll let her know._

 _No! Iselmyr, don't!_

 _Grow a pair then, Lad. Along with some backbone. Tell her already._

 _Iselmyr, I swear-_

"Aloth? Something wrong?"

He suddenly realizes Cera's maybe a foot in front of him and staring at him with a worried expression - crap, she must've heard the two of them talking. "It's nothing. Iselmyr's just being…vocal. As per the usual."

It doesn't seem to convince her - not in the slightest, damnit Iselmyr! - and then Eder casts him an evil grin and asks "What about?"

"Oh, about nearly dying by falling to my death, for one. Nearly dying tends to get her talking."

"Well, you've been looking annoyed, alarmed, and annoyed again for the past few minutes. Also, the lift stopped about ten seconds ago."

Cera looks up at the top of the tower, where they can hear the sounds of something large breathing and moving around. Aloth takes the opportunity to give Eder the worst glare he can manage, somewhat wishing looks could actually hurt. Eder, in response, gives him a mischievous grin and waggles his eyebrows - they'd better not tell Cera. They'd _better not._ Which seems to be written all over his face, because Eder rolls his eyes and Sagani quietly facepalms.

Cera whispers "There's an Elder Skuldrak up there. I can feel his thoughts…they're angry. And he wants to eat us."

Kana asks "The Skuldrak have thoughts? Feelings?"

"More like…instincts. Urges. Like hunger, and something encroaching on one's territory. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I'm picking up both from it."

Pallegina draws her greatsword, muttering a few Vailian curses, and then a Skuldrak bigger than any they've ever seen before flies down. Cera's crossbow bolt doesn't do much more than annoy it, purple fire and all. They scatter as it swoops down, and then it lets out a bellow and puts its clawed hands to its head - there's an energy surrounding Cera's own head, she must've done something to it. Kana chants while he's slashing at the beat with his estoc, Pallegina makes a deep slash in its back, and that's apparently when it shakes off whatever Cera did to it and swings at them with its huge limb.

All three close-combat fighters get knocked to the ground - rather painfully-looking - and that's when Cera loses her cool with this thing. It then starts glowing from the inside out and explodes. Cera stumbles and nearly hits the ground, good thing Aloth catches her while everybody else is still reeling from the shock of an enemy _exploding_ right in front of them. It was quite dramatic, after all.

Aloth eases Cera into a sitting position, remembering the time in Gilded Vale she nearly passed out after talking with the dead dwarf woman. _Cera, you had better not pass out here because this is one extremely bad place to decide you want to catch up on all your lost sleep._

Cera chuckles, saying "Not in…the plan. Haven't tried that before. Pretty sure I did it right though."

Eder asks "You did that?!"

"Yeah…a Cipher technique…called 'Detonate' of all things."

Pallegina says "It's a fitting name. And useful, if a bit messy." She flicks a piece of Skuldrak off her breastplate, and then Eder notices something nearly completely buried in the snow. When he pulls it out, it's a shield with the face of a dragon on the front of it.

Kana says "I know that shield! It's the Dragon's Maw! Passed down from one Dragon Slayer to the next! But how did it end up here?"

Eder says "Whoever had it last probably got ambushed by Skuldrak and carried up here. Your fighting three of them in front, no time to worry about behind you because looking away will get you killed. Perfect opportunity for one to pick you up and take you to their nest. You think there'll be any angry spirits in this thing if I use it? Way better than my own, anyway."

Cera focuses on it for a minute, then shakes her head. "I'm pretty sure it's another one of these weapons we keep finding. Sagani's bow that occasionally summons lighting strikes, Pallegina's geatsword, Kana's Estoc. Looks like you've got one to."

"That only leaves you, huh?"

Cera laughs and says "If there's a special crossbow waiting for me, I'll find it somehow."

Aloth is _really_ careful to keep his mind off the crossbow sitting at the bottom of his bag, instead filling his thoughts with how cold it is and how they should get the cannons activated somehow. It's supposed to be a surprise after all.

Cera pushes herself to her feet, looking around until she spots a wheel that looks like it's meant to turn on the large copper orb connected to all the cannons. It lets out a rusty screech, but it turns - and then Cera's knees buckle and she falls to the ground. Eder darts forward and catches her, as he's the closest to her, and sets her on the ground gently - her eyes open maybe a minute later and she lets out a groan, thankfully. Maybe it's the massive gush of steam that shot out of the orb, that's enough for them all to feel their faces and toes - that's the explanation that first comes to Aloth's mind anyway.

Kana tries to lighten the mood by saying "If you want to catch up on lost sleep, I'd suggest you do it inside the tower at least, Cera. Newly cleansed of Spiders and Skuldrak both, for one, and at least twenty degrees warmer than out here."

"Wasn't sleeping. Had a vision…ouch."

Eder asks "Anything that could help us with the Iron Flail?"

"No, I don't think so. I really don't know what just happened. There was something being forged, beings made out of metal - being made by a gigantic hammer, far larger than anything I've ever seen before. It could crush Defiance Bay all at once with one blow!"

At their somewhat skeptical looks, she shares the vision she had with them - they don't look skeptical anymore, she wasn't exaggerating.

They can even see the Iron Fort Flail from way up here, it looks like they won't get there 'til dark - so be it. At least it'll give them time to find out what other Cipher techniques Cera's been practicing in her spare time.

They find out its quite a bit of them, ever since they met Lady Webb, who _also_ showed her what she knows and taught her how to further hone her powers on her own. She's mastered the technique for blocking pain, her own pain and others, along with something she calls 'Silent Scream' - apparently she can now produce a deafening mental scream that stuns whoever she's aiming for as well as those around them - because why focus on one enemy when you can halt the whole lot of them?

That certainly explains why some of the enemies they've come across just freeze and start holding their heads in agony then. Or the way an enemy will randomly catch on fire, it's their soul 'leaking' energy - that's literally the best way she can describe it. And what's she's hoping to try and master next she calls 'Tactical Meld' - she merges her mind with that of an ally, giving them both better accuracy and defenses against the enemy they're fighting. Oh, and she's getting better at both reading people's minds and keeping her own mind from connecting with others' without her knowing it. She's still every bit as good at forging the bond and severing it, now it just happens less when she isn't trying to do so. And she's getting better at shielding her mind from others' thoughts.

* * *

 **AN: Hey, everybody! Sorry about the wait on updates - school got a little busy all at once. And I got about four more ideas for stories that I'm currently trying to pan out. Anyway, as for this story, you'd think the dwarves would've made a set of stairs or something up to the top of that tower - because that lift likely wasn't very safe when it was new, much less present-day in the game. And, seeing as someone always manages to nearly fall to their deaths in that scene, I figured it'd be cute if Cera saves Aloth and they end up nearly kissing by accident. Enjoy! Review, please! And, in case anybody's wondering, I am actually going to get the two elves together at some point - a little later down the road though.**


	19. Chapter 18

They get to the edge of the Iron Flail Fort, and find its filled with soldiers and attack dogs and siege weapons. Cera spends a good five minutes quietly searching through the minds of the soldiers, and pieces together what happened.

The delegates arrived a week ago, said they wanted to negotiate with one Commander Adaryc - and they didn't do a good job. Whatever was said, they never left the tent and Adaryc's been in a fury ever since. Some background info about the commander: all the soldiers look up to him, he's plagued by visions apparently, and one of those visions drove him all the way out here to take the Battery and use it to defend Raedceras from the Dyrwoods impending assault.

Cera whispers "I can distract the guards, keep them from noticing us. But somebody else will have to lead me to the tent, as I'll be completely focused on keeping them from noticing us."

Pallegina nods, and asks "Where's the right tent?"

"Right near this front gate here. Biggest one, round, should only have about five people inside."

They nod, and Cera closes her eyes. After a minute, they head towards the gate - the guards blankly open it, their looks completely glazed over. Nobody seems to notice them, their gazes passing right over them with blank stares and eyes.

Cera, on the other hand, has a trickle of sweat running down her forehead and a look of extreme concentration on her face - this isn't easy, this is _so not easy_. She must be controlling fifty people easily, all to keep a group of six people from being noticed and having to fight to the death. Fortunately, the tent really is close to the entrance - a hundred feet or so - and nobody gets in their way - likely Cera's doing - and they make it inside in a matter of maybe two minutes, having had to go at a walking pace so Cera could maintain her concentration.

As soon as they get inside, one man who must be Adaryc immediately whips out a well-made sword and demands "Who are you, what do you want, and how did you get in here?"

Cera, instead of answering, lets out a breathe she must've been holding in her feet and starts rubbing her forehead while stumbling. "Ok, I couldn't hold onto them all any longer. Did we make it?"

Edér says "Yeah, we made it. Don't suppose you could convince him to lower his sword?"

She focuses on the five people on the other side of a grate in the ground, looks at the grate for a minute, then raises an eyebrow at Adaryc but doesn't comment on it - and then both their expressions turn to shock. Adaryc claps a hand to his own head, just as Cera asks "What did you just do to me?"

"That's…that's never happened before." _These damned soul-seeing powers never turned on me before, why with her?!_

Cera's eyes widen, and she says "You're a Watcher. Like me."

Adaryc goes still, and says "Indeed. None outside these walls know that secret. And not all the memories I saw could belong to this life. Your Awakened, aren't you?"

Cera smiles tiredly, and says "Yes. Are you as tired of seeing dead people as I am? Because I could sleep for a month straight and still wake up tired at this point."

Eder and Kana both snort in amusement, and even Adaryc gives a pained smile and his sword point drops a few inches.

Cera says "Now that people are a little less tense around here, what exactly happened to make you throw a group of diplomats in a pit down there?"

His face hardens for an instant, and he says "Stalwart sent soothsayers, not diplomats. Thinking we'll be scared into letting the Dyrwood crush us like ants with some monstrous army."

A voice floats up from the pit, yelling "It's true! The waves will take us all!"

Cera's eyebrow rises towards her hairline, and she mutters "That's…an interesting thing to say. Especially considering we're nowhere near the ocean. I'm going to guess someone likes Ondra down there. Wait, the Dyrwoodans have the army?" That sounds too much like the dream vision she got for comfort.

"Yes, that's why we came to seize the Battery! Because I refuse to let the Dyrwoodans crush Raedceras without a fight!"

"Would this army big large enough to make the ground shake, destroy anything in their path, and the dream end with a hundred eyes watching you?"

"How could you know that?"

Adaryc's gone sheet white, and Cera says "Because I've seen the same thing. Except they destroy Caed Nua, Defiance Bay, and all the Dyrwood. And I wake up with the image of a hundred different eyes staring at me every time I get the dream. Sound familiar?"

"Spot-on perfect! Why would the Dyrwoodans turn on themselves?"

"I don't think its Kith at all, Adaryc. I think we've both been searching blindly for answers. And I think it has to do with the Forge."

He nods slowly, saying "A few days after word of the White Forge spread to Raedceras, I started getting these damned visions. The pounding, the avalanche, the eyes, all of it. I thought it came from the Dyrwood, you came in here thinking it was us. It must be from somewhere in the White March." He looks at his sword once more, looking defeated somehow. "I bound my soul to this sword as proof of my commitment - it's useless to me now." There's a ripple of energy across the blade - another one?! - and then it's gone and the sword is just a sword once more. "May it serve you well, Lady Cera."

She smiles and nods, the group making way for the Commander and the others as he walks out after handing her the sword. Cera looks at the sword, then at Eder, then finally asks "Eder, you want a sword?"

He sputters out a laugh, then takes it willingly enough - another ripple of energy, and now he has another special weapon. They then get the grate off the floor and help the group of diplomats out - three of whom seem furious at the fourth. Apparently the Commander was more than willing to listen, right up until she started shouting nonsense about waves and omens, and such - she sabotaged the negotiations with disastrous results.

Instead of attempting to explain herself, the woman runs over to the weapons rack and cuts her own throat.

All the diplomats are shocked, and Eder says "Now that definitely means she had something to hide."

Cera stifles a yawn and says "Still does. Too bad she can't anymore." She walks over to the woman's body and zones out for a moment. When she blinks and looks around, she says "She was a fanatical Ondra follower. There's some kind of abbey up in the mountains past here full of them. She was sent to get the Raedcerans to leave, and then they'll call off whatever army they summoned."

They suddenly hear a massive crashing sound, and Kana says "I think we're about to see this army they sent."

When they get outside the tent, there's two massive Maegfolc-like creatures attacking the camp. Cera immediately shoots at one, her arrow getting embedded in the thing's flesh but not bothering it in the least - it does, however, alert it to their presence _._

 _Oh shoot._

Aloth asks "I don't suppose you could try your new ability on this thing, Cera?"

"Not yet! It takes a certain level of focus I haven't reached yet!"

"Well, I highly advise you to reach it!"

Another purple arrow into these things, which seems to be as effective against it as a fly is against Kith. Three more arrows on her part, and then it seems she's built enough concentration or focus - whatever she uses - to practice her new ability on the constructs. One starts glowing from within, and then it to explodes - even more dramatically than the skuldrak, and they didn't even think that was possible. The other follows suit in maybe a minute.

Adaryc walks over, making his way around the constructs' large metal limbs, and says "The creatures from my dreams! The diplomats - no, you - were right! Thank you, you just saved my men. I have to go make sure they're alright. Thank you again, both for showing me the true threat and for stopping it for now."

Cera nods, and Adaryc hurries over to see how many of his men are left alive. They hear a whining from close by, and Cera kneels down near a wooden kennel-like construction and finds a small puppy wearing a collar with spikes. "Oh, it's so cute!" The puppy stares at her for a moment, then runs over and jumps her, starting to lick her face eagerly. "Aw, aren't you so sweet!"

Cera laughs as the puppy starts climbing on her to get a better position, and Sagani says "You've already got five dogs back at Caed Nua! And as many cats!"

Cera shrugs and says "You didn't see the mice problem the place had at first."

Eder chuckles and says "She's not wrong there, Sagani. Besides, how could you say no to that adorable face?"

Cera gives her best pout, which is completely ruined by the puppy proceeding to lick her face some more. "Let's get this collar off you, little guy." Cera's fingers work at the spiked collar, and soon enough its off and the puppy looks like it couldn't and wouldn't hurt anybody.

* * *

That night, Aloth looks over when he sees a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye - the puppy took his hood!

Cera is laughing softly, and beckons her new pet over and scratches it behind the ears - and gets his hood out of the dog's teeth. Its intact, if slightly slobbery, and he sits next to her and takes it back with a not-at-all serious glare at the dog.

The dog, in response, jumps on his legs, puts its front paws on his chest, and gives him a series of puppy-kisses on his face.

Cera's voice is full of laughter, though she's not laughing at him, and says "I think he likes you." She picks the brown puppy up and settles him on her legs, where he immediately stretches out and rolls over.

Cera scratches his belly, making the small dog go limp, and Aloth says "I think you're stuck doing that forever now, you know."

"Am I? I wouldn't know, never had a pet before coming to the Dyrwood."

"And now you've got plenty. About eleven now. Why didn't you have a pet?"

"My parents. They felt I had far more important things to do than make a fool of myself over a creature." There's bitterness in her voice now, along with long-suppressed longing. The puppy, as if sensing her worsening mood, rolls back over and nudges at her hand with his head and whines. Cera obliges, starting to give the puppy an ear rub, and quietly says "I asked for a dozen things easily. A puppy, a kitten, a highly exotic bird once - I thought that if I asked for something rare, they'd relent because it'd be something a commoner wouldn't have. Still no. Always no."

He can just imagine her at around the elf equivalent of a human child at five years old, chasing after a puppy like this one and picking it up so that it would be as tall as her. Rather adorable. "Why'd you want a pet? To have a partner in crime around the house?" His voice is teasing, trying to draw her out of the mood he inadvertently put her in, but she shakes her head despondently.

"No, I just…I just wanted something to love me. To love something and have it return the feeling somehow. My father was cold at best, furious at worst, and distant as the moon most of the time. My mother, well, she was always obsessing over my appearance rather than considering that maybe I liked not having my hair up or being in a ridiculously decorated dress. The servants were either afraid of me or had been ordered not to interact with me beyond the necessary times and reasons of getting me presentable." She lays down, shifting her new puppy - the _so overdue puppy_ \- so its lying next to her face with her arms around it protectively. The puppy licks her face and then moves over so he's cuddled even closer to her body heat.

Aloth can feel Iselmyr practically going wild inside him, so he's prepared for her voice to sound in his head.

 _Lad, ye jus' passed up the bes' opportunity to tell the lass. Ye know tha', right?_

 _Iselmyr, just don't._

 _Ye need to grow a spine, lad._

He looks over and sees Cera is sleeping - time to switch crossbows then.

* * *

 **AN: I'm finally finished with schoolwork! Now, I'm starting to pack up stuff to go back. As for the story, I know I'm stringing it out between Cera and Aloth - they'll get together, eventually. Promise! I just had to put in something about the puppy you can find in the Iron Flail Fort, I'm a complete sucker for puppies and kittens and such. As for how Cera could control them, it's sort of like how she planted the suggestion of going home to the drunks back in Gilded Vale. She just put everybody into a trance-like state so they wouldn't notice them and all attack the six of them. Because killing an entire army isn't really the best way to get on their leader's good side. Anyway, enjoy the story! Please review if you've got suggestions!**


	20. Chapter 19

Cera wakes up to find her new puppy snuggled in next to her body - at least he didn't run off. When she rolls over, she feels the contours of a crossbow dig into her back - she's really got to stop laying it quite so close by…wait, is she feeling _two_ arrow bolts?

Careful not to disturb the puppy, she picks up the crossbow and finds she's definitely not holding her own - unless it was transformed by one of the gods themselves, Abydon maybe. Because it's a hand-carved crossbow, exquisite in detail, and it holds two bolts in the body to fire separate from one another. And her own crossbow is nowhere to be seen.

Getting a hunch, she reads the recent history of the crossbow - and then her face turns bright red when she sees Aloth buying it in the emporium. She quickly stops reading the item when he walks outside, not wanting to intrude on the conversation he and Sagani were having before. Snow would melt instantly from the heat of her face right now - he must've just been waiting for a good time to give it to her, right? Or it was going to be a birthday gift or a 'you-saved-the-Dyrwood' kind of gift.

She catches herself trying to come up with something to surprise him with in return, and then absolute panic explodes in her for no reason she can find.

 _No, no, no! You're going insane! You're going insane, and you're going to end up like Maerwald, and it wouldn't be at all fair to Aloth to tell him that you feel for him what you never felt for any of the suitors your parents tried to marry you off to only to go crazy maybe a few days later and end up like Maerwald! And he probably just got it for you because it would be useful in keeping yourself alive and killing things like Skuldrak and such!_

The frantic voice of whatever reason she has left isn't doing much to help, because she knows all that stuff and it doesn't help in the slightest. Another voice in her head - thank all the gods it's in her voice and she's sure she doesn't have any mental connections at the moment - says _Face it, Cera. You're in love with Aloth. And you're so deep you can't even see the surface._

Cera doesn't try to deny the fact - there's no use, she'd just be lying to herself and she knows it - but what difference does it make? They go from one battle to the next, have to find Thaos somehow, and she's on a timer that's getting closer and closer to zero with every passing minute until she loses her sanity entirely and becomes like Maerwald - baggy-eyed, talking to himself in three different voices, and almost completely unhinged.

Kith move on from loss if it isn't world-shattering, so even if he has some feelings for her he could move on…right? But if they get close, closer than they already are…it could break him entirely. She moved on from her parents, after all.

 _With his help._

That's it, they're both screwed.

She's on borrowed time and just getting deeper and deeper in this mess that is her feelings for Aloth, and he maybe doesn't even feel that way - she's an idiot. A stuck-up, vain, idiot who can't even keep herself from making a mess for someone else. She tried to prove she wasn't like her parents, but all she proved was that she's got a knack for getting into trouble in every way possible - because even if she goes as mad as Maerwald, she suspects she'd still feel incredibly guilty about taking advantage of Aloth like this. And trying to put any distance between them now is useless and even more idiotic - he'll know something's up, and he'll want to help, and it'll just make her love him more for caring so much.

Well, no use agonizing over it this late at night anyway - chances are Aloth would wake up, see she's awake, and offer to keep her company.

* * *

The next morning, Eder asks "Hey, Cera. Where'd you get the crossbow?"

She looks down at the weapon like she didn't notice it before, feeling Aloth's apprehension skyrocket. She fakes some confusion, then asks "Remember when I said 'if there's a special crossbow out there, I'll find it'? Looks like it found me instead. Must be _magic_."

Aloth relaxes instantly, Eder gets a smirk on his face, and Sagani actually drops her bow for a minute and stares at first her, then Aloth, then back at her. Nobody says anything though, right up until there's a ripple of energy from the crossbow - jeez, looks like the gods seem to like her for the time being. One of them, anyway.

She's fairly certain she hears some thought about both elves being oblivious knuckleheads that can't see what's practically being shoved in their faces.

"We should…we should probably head back to Stalwart before going to the Abbey, get some supplies - because it's kind of a long journey."

And that would be when they meet the tall Aumaua woman dressed _far too thinly_ for the White March asking for directions to the Abbey of the Fallen Moon.

Cera blinks, then says "So that's the name. Good to know. Abbey full of Ondrites? Hidden away in the mountains? Yeah, we're headed there right after getting some supplies."

She clearly thinks it's a massive joke, until she looks at the serious faces of each member of the party. "Ondra's Tears, your serious."

Aloth says "She doesn't usually joke about finding an abbey hidden in the middle of nowhere. As it is, we have some business there as well. Have to stop a massive metallic army from destroying the Dyrwood and now Raedceras as well."

"You all mind if I join you for a bit? I'm good in a fight."

Kana and Eder are busy getting supplies like food, and just now come back - and Kana stops dead upon seeing Maneha, as she introduced herself.

Apparently, she's currently a Giftbearer of Ondra up from Ixamitl, went looking for the Abbey to get something good and forgotten. She won't really say what though.

* * *

 **AN: Hey, only a few more days until I go back to school! And yes, while this chapter is something of a filler, it's also when Cera comes to terms with her own feelings for Aloth - and, yes, she absolutely _panics_ when she does. Not that unreasonable, given the fact that she's slowly going crazy at the moment. And seeing as she doesn't just go into someone's head and doesn't mess with their memories or feelings, she hasn't pried into his feelings or thoughts any more than she has no choice in doing. So she doesn't know he feels the same way for her. I really will get the two of them together, just not at the moment. And I will be doing a crystal scene, please be patient. **


	21. Chapter 20

They finally get up to the Abbey, and Maneha whistles in appreciation - they've got some amazing architecture if nothing else, and Kana seems interested as well.

One of the guards blocks their path, demanding to know why they're here - good thing the Ondrite from the Fort had something about a Tidebringer arriving soon. She says as much, while rapidly pulling as much knowledge from all the monks' minds as she can without them realizing it, and gains them entry by pointing out the fact that it's nearly the end of the Mecwyn's Tide and that her presence shouldn't be any surprise to them.

Kana whistles in appreciation, and quietly asks "You know about Ondra's Tides?"

"They do, and I'm pulling info out of their heads as fast as I can. The Tidebringer is supposed to replace the High Abbot, one Aumaua named Kaoto. Other than that…a lot of stuff about Giftbearers and something called the 'Low Tide' down below the Abbey. And I'm fairly certain it's not your normal water-tide. Because they keep saying something about them 'going to Ondra's Embrace' a lot." To be entirely honest, that doesn't sound at all comforting to anyone.

Now everybody thinks Cera's the Tidebringer and lets them all through without even a suspicious glance.

Maneha, earlier, confessed to having an Awakened Soul of her own that supplied her with memories she dearly wants to forget - she used to be a general in a long-ago war, and had to crush some resistance in the locals when they invited them to stay for the night and then tried to kill them. And now the guilt is eating her alive.

There's supposed to be a salt pool in the abbey somewhere, which can supposedly wash away even memories. Cera and Aloth share a glance, but then Maneha says it only works for Ondra's faithful servants supposedly.

Cera's look wilts a little at that, but she forces her voice to be steady when she says "Well, had to be a catch somewhere. That and the fact that I don't have anything to offer as a token of what I'd like to forget." She shrugs, but you don't need to be a Cipher or have a mental connection with her to know her hopes got _real_ high for just a moment when Maneha mentioned the pool - as high as the moon, only to come crashing back down and die.

They're given directions to all the rooms, and Manhea focuses on one that's supposed to be extra sacred for some reason the monk didn't say. It's called the Vault of Forgotten Thoughts - sounds like it has what Maneha's looking for.

When they get inside, after Cera successfully fakes a recitation and they are all still under the belief that Cera is the Tidebringer, they find there's four rows of coral growing over and around items like they're Ondra's fingers wrapping around them. There's also a small pool in the back, which Cera and Maneha go over to while everyone else takes a look at the items trapped in the coral.

Aloth doesn't know if anybody else finds anything, but he discovers a beautiful ring amongst the coral - and that he can retrieve. He's more than certain it's a betrothal ring, due to the gemstones set into it and the skill that clearly went into creating it. He puts it in his pocket for now - there's no way he's letting Eder get even a glimpse of it, Cera will have to hear his thoughts from all the way across the Dyrwood if he does - and sneaks another look at the elf woman to find her and Maneha talking at the edge of the pool back there. He quickly turns back to looking for any more items he can free until they all hear a shriek of "It's freezing!"

When they all turn around and look, they find Maneha treading water in the pool up to her neck. Eder asks "What're you doing swimming in the _White March?!_ "

"Well, how else am I going to wash away these memories? Why isn't anything happening though?"

She looks around at the pool, and Cera asks "Remember the Giftbearer thing about taking a token of what is intended to be forgotten?"

"Riiiight. Got just the thing." She digs around in her pack, and comes out with a wrapped bottle of wine. She looks at it regretfully, and says "Been saving this for a special occasion - I was hoping it'd be _after_ this. Oh well, if it's getting drunk or being free of these memories…" She smashes the bottle against the side of the pool, letting the wine flow into the water. Its instantly stained almost as red as blood, and two massive tentacles form in the pool and drag her down.

Everybody freaks, Cera nearly diving in the water herself, until Maneha's head pops back up after a moment and takes a deep breath of air. When she's out of the water, it instantly turns crystal clear once again - like the whole thing never happened.

Despite being freezing cold, Maneha is perfectly calm about the entire ordeal. When Cera asks what she remembers, she says "I remember being afraid, but I don't remember what of. I remember running, but not why."

"Sounds like it worked then. Too bad it probably won't work for me." She shrugs again, adjusting her crossbow at her hip, and then zones out for a moment and says "Someone's coming. Likely looking to see if we're ready to head downstairs."

Sure enough, a monk opens the door a moment later, and doesn't seem all that surprised to see one of them soaked to the bone and spreading a puddle of water as she walks. "Ah, yes, you've discovered the Salt Pool then. We'll get you a towel and some new clothes, sister."

When the door closes, they all let out sighs of relief - good thing Cera's mental powers are always active, otherwise they'd have gotten found out at least a dozen times before.

* * *

Cera's staring at the relic in front of them, Ondra's Witness it's called.

Push it one way, it'll open the flood gates and release all the Low Tide members. Push it the other way, it'll flood the place and kill them all.

They were all real clear on the whole 'Ondra's Embrace' deal - the Low Tide goes to their goddess after their memories have been fully stripped away - but willingly _murdering_ all those innocent people? Maybe they weren't innocent before, but they can't remember any of that now - most of them can barely talk!

Farentis, the only one that wasn't a raving lunatic, said they just wanted to make new memories and live out the rest of their natural lifespans. That what they were promised was a far cry from what the Halls of Silence actually is. They thought it would be peaceful, not paranoia-filled and confusing!

Sagani says "Looks like our cover is almost up anyway. Either you push the lever left and buy us a few more minutes, or you push it right and give all those people a chance at a new life for a bit."

Cera looks away from the lever, then quickly back at it, then pushes the lever towards the open gate. "I won't murder all those people down there. Not…not again. Never again."

She's got to be referring to her Awakened life, all the people she keeps seeing on torture racks and pyres.

Even now, they can hear happy shouts filled with hope, along with alarmed shouts of 'don't hurt our brethren!' and 'bring them back to the halls!'

Kana says "Looks like we're through pretending, at least."

* * *

After defeating Kaoto, they find the rest of the _massive_ skeleton at the top of the abbey - its only relic, apparently. Pallegina comments "Honestly, the rest of the skeleton should have clued us in."

Kana says "This is both far larger and far older than any kith or construction of kith in history! What could it be from?"

Cera finds a hunk of metal wedged in the ice, and pries it loose only to be hit with yet another vision. It's of a being destroying a rock hurtling towards a settlement, and taking the blow of the worst of the remaining projectiles in the settlement's place.

And right after the vision ends, another begins - this one directly from Ondra. And Cera's willing to bet she's not too happy.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, I don't really see Cera actually agreeing to drown a bunch of memoryless priests that have gone feral from lack of memories and understanding - well, going through with it, anyway. Pretending to agree to keep the cover of the Tidebringer going, maybe. At any rate, we've got the metal that turns into Abydon's Hammer! So, I bet everyone can guess what chapter is next! If you can't, read it and find out - no spoilers! As for me, I've gotten moved in to college for the school year, and classes start Monday - please expect longer waits between chapters, as homework comes first - no matter how much fun this is. Please review! Enjoy, more chapters to come!**


	22. Chapter 21

"I'll do it, everybody go." Everybody stares at her in a dead silence, not believing Cera just said she'd sacrifice herself. She did though, and she's already holding the hammer.

Aloth shakes his head, and says "No, Cera, there's got to be another way. We'll-"

She interrupts him with a sad shake of her head, and says "Aloth, no. I'll do it. You all go. Get out of this cursed rock." _Live. Get out of here._ There's a million more things she wants to say, but they don't have time.

Aloth still refuses to let her do this though, finding desperate stubbornness from somewhere - maybe Iselmyr - so she looks into his eyes for a minute. Wishing she didn't have to do this with part of her heart and wanting them to live with the rest, she puts him and the others into a trance and sends them out of the rock - then her resolve breaks for a moment and she calls Aloth back. "I love you, Aloth." She kisses him - if it's the last thing she'll ever do, well, there's worse ways. And she wants to say it and do it at least once before she's dead, even if he won't remember. Then she sends him running back with the others and starts pounding on the huge crystal in front of her.

* * *

Aloth suddenly seems to wake up - when and why did he _zone out_ when Cera was saying she'd be the one to stop the Eyeless?! - out in the freezing cold ice and at least ten yards from the _sinking_ fragment of Ionni Brathur. He looks around and sees four other Kith and a white fox - Cera's still in there! Kana shakes his head and asks "How'd we get out here? Last thing I remember, we were in the moon fragment with Cera…oh."

Aloth takes exactly one frantic step towards the still-sinking moon before Pallegina's hand is gripping his shoulder and cloak. "Amico, she's gone. Still in the rock, frozen or drowned by now." There's never been as much pity in her stance as right now, he's sure of it.

Before he can start to desperately protest, the ice cracks a few feet away and about ten Laugafeth emerge and throw a familiar, shivering form onto the ice. There's a look of intelligence in the Laugafeths' eyes, and then they hear Marunn's voice say that their debt to the Watcher has been repaid.

Aloth's at Cera's side first, immediately wrapping his cloak around her freezing body. Kana does the same, along with Eder, and Sagani says they should get her to the Gref's Rest as soon as possible.

Suddenly, things start moving in reverse and the Eyeless file out of the moon fragment - and they ask why they were destroyed. According to Ondra, they've got pieces of Abydon inside them - he used to be about preservation as well as progress, but when he died he lost that part of himself. And the Eyeless can restore that to him.

After an hour-long debate with the Eyeless, they manage to convince them to return to Abydon with not only preservation but with context as well - because sometimes the past should stay in the past. Maneha's plight, Cera's own, the fact that the secrets of the White Forge nearly caused the Dyrwood's destruction, and even the way the Valian Republics are trying to undermine the Dyrwood's trade - all of that together persuades the Eyeless to temper their purpose with perspective of why some things should be moved on from.

* * *

At the Gref's Rest, later that night, there's a massive celebration going on - Kana's singing some song he learned in Rauatai, Eder's dancing to it with people, Pallegina and Sagani are watching with some amusement at people's antics, and Aloth is looking around the crowded, incredibly noisy room for one other Aedyran elf woman who's probably hearing all the thoughts in the room right now. Might even be enjoying them, seeing as they're so happy.

He finds her sitting in front of the fire, like she's still cold despite having changed into something _not_ dripping wet and still wrapped in his cloak at his insistence. He walks over, carrying a mug of hot tea in his hands, and sets it in front of her and sits next to her. She takes it gratefully, and drinks it down immediately - despite the steam rising from the cup.

Finally, Aloth can't really take it anymore and asks "Why did you do it, Cera? Any one of us would have used the hammer, you know that." _Why did you nearly die? Saving the Dyrwood from the Eyeless is definitely something worth dying for, but couldn't you find something worth living for? Couldn't…couldn't I be worth living for?_

Cera doesn't seem to have heard the thoughts - the entire town is in here celebrating, there's got to be a million thoughts louder than his, of course she wouldn't hear his thoughts at the moment - and asks "And what kind of friend would that make me? 'Here, please die so I can live.' I couldn't ask that of you guys."

He swears he can hear Cera's mental voice say _I couldn't ask that of you._ Aloth shakes his head stubbornly, and says "You wouldn't have had to ask! If you hadn't had the recreation of Abydon's Hammer in your bag…wait, is that why you said you'd carry it? So you could just say you'd do it and nobody could change your mind or make you leave by virtue of having the hammer?"

She looks into the cup, mumbling "Maybe…"

Sometimes she's too smart for her own good - or for anyone else's.

And then all his thoughts fly straight out of his head and into Wael-knows-where when she leans against him, mumbling something he doesn't quite catch over the din of the crowd. When he manages to look over, she's practically falling asleep - how she's managing that, he doesn't know as its practically deafening in here.

He shakes her shoulder a little but that only results in her connecting her mind to his - and the noise of the room dims when he focuses on that bond. He feels a bone-deep exhaustion from her, and barely hears _Think I'm going to sleep for a while, Aloth…_

 _Let's get you back to your room then. Because this can't be the most comfortable position._

 _You'd be amazed…how comfortable…I am….with…_

Her voice drifts off, probably before she was done talking - and Eder is suddenly right there next to the two of them, and notices Cera's rising and falling shoulders immediately. "She's sleeping in this din?"

"Not entirely sure how, but yes, she's sleeping in this noise."

"She didn't happen to give an explanation for why we were suddenly out on the ice, did she?"

"No, but I think I know how. When we first met in Gilded Vale, well, it was because three drunks were about to get into a fight with me in front of the inn. Iselmyr said something, they got mad, she said _something else_ that got them furious when trying to talk them down wasn't working, and then right as it was about to come to a violent head they all just stilled and their looks glazed over. Then Cera walks in front of them and tells them all to go home and not remember any of the incident. They all just nodded and started stumbling to their homes. She later told me she just put the suggestion in their heads and they took it - the fact that they were completely drunk helped a lot."

"And she's gotten a lot stronger since Gilded Vale."

"Yes, she has. So I'm guessing she just did the same thing, had us get out of the rock and onto the ice while she destroyed the rock and the Eyeless."

He mutters something about Cera being too stubborn and good with her Cipher powers at times, and Eder says "Let's get her out of here, shall we? The owner said we can stay for free, seeing as we saved everyone and all that. C'mon, I'll get the door."

Aloth carries Cera to her room while Eder holds the doors open - at least the former farmhand doesn't say anything this time about the two elves. And Cera's puppy jumps up onto the bed, proceeds to find the most comfortable spot next to her, and falls asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Hours later, Aloth's looking at the ring he still had in his pocket even now - he seriously thought he wouldn't get the chance to give it to Cera, enchantments on it and all. He didn't enchant the ring, but he's discovered there's about three enchantments on it that can let you cast some priest spells, and that actually makes you smarter - where and how it was enchanted, that's a mystery to him entirely.

He could ask Cera to read the band of metal, but that would probably tell her he was going to surprise her with it - or she'd read that it really _is_ an engagement ring and think he's asking her to marry him. And given everything, how she trusts him even with all his secrets for instance, he really doesn't want to lose her friendship.

He finally puts it away and closes his eyes, only to be dreaming about Ionni Brathur once again. Except Cera calls him back as they're leaving, says she loves him, and kisses him before telling him to go once again.

He wakes up, looking around frantically. _That was one heck of a dream, too real…_

 _Lad, it was like as not jus' a dream. Neither o' us remember tha' happenin' after all._

 _So why can I taste her even now?_

 _Active imagination. Ye want her, so yer dreaming o' havin' her._

He can still taste that dream-kiss even now, and he seriously wishes - doesn't dare to hope - that it was more than just a dream. But what would he be hoping for? That he was picking up on Cera's dreams? That she was sending it to him? No, more than likely it was his own mind telling him to grow a spine and tell the elf woman how he feels.

* * *

 **AN: And, the chapter for the moon fragment is here! Hope you all like it - I couldn't really see Cera simply letting one of her friends die like that. As for using her powers on them like that, I'd like to think the context would factor into it - she didn't want them to die, and Aloth clearly wasn't going to just walk away and let her do the same. Enjoy! More chapters underway! And yes, I really will get the two elves together - just a little bit later than now, be patient!**


	23. Chapter 22

When they get to Caed Nua on the way to Raedric's Hold, after helping out in Stalwart some more to make sure they'd be alright this time, they find Kolsc waiting for them and Aufra waiting with a hug of thanks - and she's much further along in her pregnancy, making Cera dearly hope they can stop the Leaden Key somehow before her child's soul is taken.

Trumbel and his family gratefully thank her for letting them stay in Caed Nua all this time, and Kolsc takes the six adventurers aside to a room that he's temporarily made a war room. There's a large map of the Hold spread out on a table, and he points them to the easiest route inside unless they find a way to get the guards to let them inside somehow.

Cera gets a gleam in her eyes, and asks "How many of his guards are there?"

"There shouldn't be too many, now. Even the mercenaries Raedric's hired are starting to desert him. Osrya, the animancer Raedric hired to ensure his child was not Hollowborn fled mere minutes after the birth and the results were announced, I've heard."

Aloth incredulously asks "He turned to another Animancer to keep his child from being Hollowborn?"

"Yes, shortly after Caldera, I believe. She was an expert on some field in Animancy, and sought her out specifically because of that. If what you said before is true, then nobody could keep the child's soul in its body - she barely escaped with her life, as you can imagine."

Cera's got a look in her eyes that spells trouble for Raedric and whatever guards he has left, and says "I may be able to get us in the Hold. You guys remember the Iron Fort?"

Aloth says "Yes, and you barely made it to the command tent."

"That was with a lot more people, There'll be, what, ten people I'll have to distract?"

Kolsc says "Barely that. My scouts say Raedric's mercenaries are deserting more by the day. The bridge is unguarded now, barely any men patrol the walls. The most soldiers will likely be in the Throne room. What exactly do you have in mind?"

"I'm a Cipher, I can…shall we say, distract the guards long enough to get inside. I don't usually do stuff like this, but I'll just be keeping them from getting killed so…"

Eder grins and says "Besides, Raedric's gone insane, right? Nearly killed all of Gilded Vale trying to 'cleanse' the Legacy. Don't think people will mind too much."

Kolsc asks "You could…just have them open the doors? Let you walk right in?"

Cera shrugs and says "Among other things. I usually don't, but sometimes it's just the less violent option." Aloth doesn't say a word, but Cera can feel how much he dislikes the plan - he keeps thinking of how it took nearly all her concentration to control the Iron Flail members long enough for them to get to the Command Tent.

Kolsc shows them the map of the Hold, and the throne room is a straight shot from the courtyard - which should be empty, or almost empty.

* * *

When they get there, Cera focuses for a moment and says "The place is nearly deserted. Most of the men are patrolling the upper floors…something about getting away from Raedric's growing madness. Anyone in sight…potential target…he's started hanging the mercenaries now. His kid's birth sent him over the edge. Oh, and apparently his wife still worshipped Eothas in secret."

Eder whistles and says "Brave woman, her. Keeping faith after everything, and knowing what he'd do."

Kana asks "Are you sure you can distract all the soldiers?"

"No need, only the few that are in the courtyard and the brave few that are in the entrance hall. The ones upstairs won't hear a thing of the fighting, and the ones on the walls are more focused on how they want the shift to stretch on forever rather than if anyone would be crazy enough to come here and be the next to be hung by Raedric."

Aloth mumbles "Glad we got out when we did…"

Cera gives a tired smile and says "Me to. We'd likely have been the first few to be hung."

"Or you'd have made a distraction for us and we'd have escaped."

Cera shrugs, then gets a familiar look of concentration on her face - though far less strained than back in the White March. Aloth takes her hand and leads her in, while the others go ahead of them and cast wary glances at the guards with glazed-over expressions.

The door gets opened for them, and they quickly move inside as Cera has the guards close the door behind them - so nothing is different from when they blanked out. Kana raises an eyebrow at Aloth when he sees the two elves' hands together, but doesn't comment on it - they've got bigger things to worry about anyway.

Cera's look clears almost instantly once the doors are back in place, and she quietly says "Raedric is in the throne room - alone for the most part. Two…three guards with him, and none of them really want to be near him for fear they'll be the next to be hung. Fairly certain they won't be much trouble."

Eder says "I'll take Raedric on myself. Let's just say its personal."

Cera nods in sympathy and understanding, and then they head into the room.

* * *

Raedric has gone absolutely insane, ranting about how he'll save Gilded Vale from the Legacy no matter what - and even the last few guards run in terror when Eder reveals the Eothasian Symbol on the back of his cloak. And for good reason, as he went over the edge of even coherent speaking at the mere sight of the symbol.

Twenty minutes later, Raedric is dead - and even the mercenaries he hired look grateful and relieved - and Edér has several cuts and bruises, having been Raedric's main target since he revealed his faith. It quickly turned into a duel between the two men, with the others cheering Eder on enthusiastically - which Eder ultimately won, cutting Raedric's head from his shoulders cleanly.

And as expected, the mercenaries don't put up any kind of fight once Raedric is dead - truth be told, they were afraid of what he'd eventually do. And now they're all mostly feeling relief that he's dead.

When they get to the bridge, Kolsc is standing there with a look of pure shock on his face. Cera says "It's done, Raedric is dead. Anything else, Kolsc?"

"Uh…no. No, that's more than enough. Thank you, Lady Cera. Gilded Vale owes you a great debt."

"No, you don't. Raedric would've killed everyone. You all don't owe me anything. If you really need a reason, consider it preventing a war or something, as Raedric would more than likely have gone to war against Caed Nua at some point."

Kolsc nods slowly, and says "Thank you again. This…this is a new start for Gilded Vale."

Kana asks "Where to next? Now that the threat of one highly insane Lord Raedric is out of the way…?"

"You want to take another venture into the Endless Paths, don't you?"

Cera's grin is teasing, and he asks "Did you hear that in my thoughts?"

"Maybe, just a little. Your practically screaming 'please say we'll go down further into the Endless Paths.' But it's also written all over your face."

Kana blushes, and says "Fair enough. So, can we? At least until we have to turn back? Or learn something new?"

Panic crosses everybody else's face at the thought of going until Kana finds something new to learn - he's a rabid historian at times, and trying to turn him from the hunt of something is impossible.

Cera says "A few floors, alright? But then we've got to get back to Defiance Bay. The Sanitarium, remember?"

Kana nods slowly, and then they're off again.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, Raedric's dead! And, he won't be coming back - I don't really think decapitation is something you can come back from, even in Eora. At any rate, it's back to Caed Nua and the Endless Paths! If memory serves, they've made it to at least all those Xaurips. Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming soon!**


	24. Chapter 23

They made it past a sealed door, using three ancient seals - the Guardian, the Builder, and the Scribe, and Cera found the first title extremely funny because they'd fought their way through countless creatures and things that wanted to kill them, so, _not a good job_ on his part, which got them all laughing to after a minute - and got to what they think is the seventh floor.

Pallegina remarks that there must be another entrance the monsters are using, as that particular door was sealed tight for who-knows-how-long - she's got to be right, but they've got no idea where this door would be. It may well be the main staircase they've been using to get back and forth between the Endless Paths and the Keep.

When they get to the seventh floor, they find it absolutely full of blights of all four elements. By the time they killed all the water blights, everyone can feel Cera's unease growing massively.

Aloth takes her aside and asks "Cera, what's wrong?"

She casts a quick glance at Kana, then connects her mind with his - sending a flood of worry and ideas about the blights, the machines, and why they were _still active_ into his mind with the rather scared-sounding whisper of _You remember when Kana said Gabrannos had unparalleled control over the elements? How he was supposedly this amazingly powerful wizard who had mastered magic and controlling all four elements at his will?_

 _Yes, of course I remember. He wouldn't stop talking about the ancient Engwithan Wizard for two and a half hours. Why?_

 _All these machines surely couldn't have kept running for all this time on their own, right? And who turned them on? Who would have_ known _how to turn them on and start them generating blights in the first place?_

A series of images suddenly passes from her to him, all the skeletons they've fought in here and the horror that was Heritage Hill mainly, but its more than enough to see exactly why she's worrying so much. What she's worried about and exactly what kind of horror is possibly waiting for them - an ancient Engwithan Wizard, armed with many lifetimes of experience and furthering his mastery over the elements, and quite possibly a blight army. Disturbing and unsettling in the least, and enough for a full-blown panic at worst.

 _Cera, we'll stop him if he's still alive. Calm down, alright? You're working yourself up here. With a good reason, if the part of the blight army is really waiting for us, but we'll stop it._

They're thoroughly interrupted when Eder and Kana start calling Cera's name, and head over to see them holding a small pyramid covered in Engwithan runes. Kana says "Cera, you'd know what this says, care to translate?"

She takes it from their hands, and then her eyes go wide when she looks at the symbols on each side. "It's for the machines…they can be used to imprison the blights! And this…this activates that function!" She stares at it for another few moments, then says "Someone removed the prism, made it so the forges would continuously make blights. There're four of these, scattered throughout the place. One's in the room that was making Earth Blights. One is in a room past the Fire Blight chamber, and this one was placed here afterwards…meaning the last one could be anywhere. And this…" She examines it more closely, and says "It's for the Fire Blight Chamber. There's a fourth chamber down there, making Wind Blights. I'm pretty sure it's on the other side of this wall, actually."

She then darts off to find the Fire Blight chamber, and they get in just as she inserts the Prism. The machine is suddenly filled with a massive amount of fire, and Kana says "Imprison the blights indeed! Quite impressive! Come, we must find the others!"

They get out of the Chamber, and Cera says "There's one in either direction. One in the Earth Blight Chamber, and one in the room right over there." She points to a massive door, barely visible in the light of a nearly-guttered-out torch. When they get close though, she freezes and goes still, her face a mask of pure horror.

Kana looks over when there's one less set of footsteps, and sees she's staring at the door in a mix of horror, pity, and pure revulsion - and increasing pain. "Cera? What's wrong?"

"Voices in there. Shades. Kana, I don't want to crush your spirits, but I don't think Gabrannos was that great. Because…because they're saying…" She suddenly faints, and Aloth catches her before she can hit the ground.

"Cera! Not again, Cera, c'mon, wake up!" This isn't the first time something like this has happened, such as in the temple back in Gilded Vale or the Sanitarium in Defiance Bay, but this is definitely the most extreme case.

Aloth shakes her shoulder, trying to wake her, and Pallegina says "She won't wake like that, Amico."

There's no way any of them want Pallegina to slap Cera, and Kana says "Perhaps getting rid of whatever she's currently seeing or hearing would suffice?"

Aloth quickly nods, and says "I'll stay out here with her, make sure nothing gets to her."

They all nod, Pallegina actually rolling her eyes and mumbling some Vailian saying, and then Kana opens the door and they walk inside. Aloth pulls Cera closer so her head is resting on his legs, and she actually _whimpers_ and curls up closer to him, mumbling something in Engwithan. He starts stroking her hair, wondering how it's so soft despite the fact that she's been traveling for what must be a year at least. He's no psychic, entirely unable to connect to her mind on his own, so he starts talking to her, uncaring if the others hear him and wonder why he's suddenly babbling randomly.

He eases her up and supports her by the shoulders, wrapping one arm around them so she's leaning into his arm - because she seems terrified by now, living a memory that doesn't belong to either this life or her previous one. When he starts into how he found the hut deep in the Corpsefruit Grove in the beginning of his first year at the academy, she seems to have calmed down a little - it was the smell that drew him to it, and its firmly etched into his memory no matter what either he nor Iselmyr have done to try and forget it. Awful, smelled like rotting bodies, and every year the newest students would go investigate the smell only to turn away upon realizing it wasn't something that could be dealt with or removed. He, however, got curious and went to see what was _in_ the grove, pinching his nose the whole way, and discovered a small hut that looked abandoned for years at least. Though he never had need of it until Iselmyr was Awakened, and when she periodically showed herself when he was stressed. He'd go to the Corpsefruit Grove, hide himself away in the hut where nobody could hear him, and then Iselmyr could emerge safely and without the risk of the both of them being exposed.

He looks down when he feels Cera shift slightly, and sees her eyes are cracked open and there's a small smile on her face. She whispers "Your good at telling stories, you know that? Don't let me interrupt."

Instead of resuming his storytelling, he crushes her in a hug. "You had me scared halfway to the Wheel, you know that?"

"Planning on…taking me…with you?"

He immediately loosens up his hold enough that she can take in some air - a lot of air, oops - and says "Don't…don't go quite that far next time, Cera. Hear all the voices you want, but by the gods, please don't suddenly faint like that again."

She casts a glance at the doorway, a wary, worried, and more-than-a-little-afraid glance, and says "I'm still working on that shielding technique - and those voices were…loud, very, very loud."

"What were they saying?" He turns her face back to his, studying the way her face tenses up and she gets faint creases from remembered pain and fear.

After a tense minute, she quietly says "That room back there…Gabrannos tortured people in there. Chained them to these posts. He never personally helped with anything, just stood there and watched, took notes, occasionally requested a slight change or different method. I don't think Kana knew who he was looking for."

Aloth shakes his head, there's no way Kana had any idea that the writer and scholar he was looking for was so demented. She suddenly hugs him once again, taking him by surprise - and shocking him all over again when he feels her trembling, likely from an adrenaline crash as whatever she was seeing wears off further. He's not complaining though, and wraps his arms around her frame protectively.

And right then is when it hits him, holding Cera close and breathing in her scent - he wants to kiss her, wants it almost desperately. He quickly shoves that urge to the back of his mind, hoping Cera didn't pick up on it - nope, she seems too lost in her own thoughts and what she saw before to pick up on his thoughts at the moment. He's almost torn between wanting her to pick up on it and hoping she doesn't - because, after all his secrets for so long, he doesn't want to lose the friendship of the woman that accepts him for who he is, Iselmyr and all.

Five minutes later, Kana and the others walk back out with the third Prism to find Aloth and Cera waiting for them with the one from the Earth Blight chamber. Cera recovered and then decided they should probably save some time and just get the prism - Aloth wasn't going to let her out of his sight after she just fainted.

It took the others a few minutes to get out after fighting the shades because they had to find the prism and quietly agreed to never tell Cera exactly what they found here - they figured out that she's still pretty young for an elf, the human equivalent of her early twenties maybe. Because Sagani's 'mother-voice' works on her, and she seems far too compassionate and excited by certain things to be very old. Like her puppy, for instance. And the way she tries to lighten the mood whenever she wakes up from a nightmare. And the way she's grinning from ear to ear now and holding another prism in her hands.

"You guys got it! This one's for the Wind Forge, and that one…the Rain Forge."

And the way she can dart off quickly, forcing people to either try to keep up or follow at their own pace.

Kana, however, spots a doorway with some symbols carved into it - and Gabrannos' name. They call Cera back, and Kana looks incredibly excited to finally find the resting place of the old wizard. They all finally agree that three of them should go inside and three should go about imprisoning the Blights - Sagani, Aloth, and Cera go for the Forges, and Kana, Eder, and Pallegina go inside the chamber.

When Cera, Aloth, and Sagani get back to the chamber, they find the other three unharmed - and Kana's spirits in ruins like the keep was when they first found it. He's sitting at a stone table, glumly staring at a tablet that's been shattered - it must be the Tanvii Ora Toha, the thing he left his home for a year ago to find. Heck, the two of them might have even crossed paths at one point! Most likely in Ixamitl, which was his stop before the Dyrwood as well - Cera stayed for a while and then crossed back into the Dyrwood.

Turns out Gabrannos was alive in a way all this time - he's currently a pile of broken bones on the floor - and the tablet is useless. Cera consoles him, saying they learned stuff and that perhaps the Engwithans can be a warning to not follow in their path.

Kana frowns, considering what she said, then says "There were already large differences in the chant…and much of it was added on as it was passed down…your right, Cera. Better that we go our own way, than following theirs." He gestures to Gabrannos' remains, then sighs and says "Let's get out of here, I think I need some air."

Nobody could agree more, some fresh air and sunlight would be more than welcome after this place.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, ending to Kana's quest! all the shades in that one room couldn't have just come from nowhere, you know. At any rate, Cera and Aloth are getting pretty close! Yeah, I know I'm stringing them out for a while, but they'll get together before long! Enjoy! Also, thinking of doing a fic for Deadfire as well, but probably going to use a different character. But, seeing as I like the Cipher class...going to be another Cipher if I do. Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming out soon! Review if you've got suggestions or questions!**


	25. Chapter 24

When they get up to the first floor, using the Master Staircase once again, they find a group of people in black robes with Engwithan runes stitched onto them - runes that detail an oath that binds them to Woedica's service, no matter the sacrifice, even if it means sacrificing their souls - and wearing hooded masks. Great, perfect timing.

A fight breaks out, no surprise, and they get most of them killed - and then Cera's eyes widen and she moves just in time to avoid getting stabbed in the back by another member of the Leaden Key. As it is, she gets a shallow slice in her side just under her ribcage, but then the man suddenly looks dazed and looks around in utter confusion - which is quickly solved by Pallegina's Greatsword.

Kana looks like he's about to say something when they notice the knife the last attacker had - notice how Itumaak is sniffing it and growling dangerously. Sagani snatches it up and sniffs, then says "They coated it with poison. Did anybody get cut?"

Cera holds her hand up, then promptly collapses for the second time in as many hours. When Aloth catches her again, her temperature is already rising and her breathing coming in more shallowly.

Sagani hurriedly says "I can stop the poison, but we can't well do it here. Let's get her back to her room in Brighthollow!"

Pallegina says "I'll organize some search parties, just in case we have any more…guests lurking around."

They quickly split up, Eder, Pallegina, and Kana each going to round up some guards to search the grounds while Aloth carries Cera to Brighthollow with Sagani in front getting doors and making sure there isn't anyone waiting to ambush them. Luckily, they used a rare poison made from the berries of a plant that only grows in Nasitaaq - because Sagani knows exactly how to treat it, as kids would eat said berries and accidentally poison themselves from time to time. And she's got everything she needs in her pack.

Aloth puts Cera on the bed, and Sagani shoos him out and gets to work once the door is shut - he waits outside the door, with the excuse that he's making sure no Leaden Key members come in and finish them off. Maybe twenty minutes later, Sagani comes out of the room - she doesn't say anything, but raises an eyebrow at him knowingly.

"Don't start, Sagani. Please don't start."

"I didn't say anything."

"You weren't saying anything so loud a deaf person could have heard it loud and clear."

"Well, here's what I'm saying now: I patched Cera up. She'll live, though she won't exactly be ready to take off to Defiance Bay tomorrow or anything."

Aloth's suddenly hit with a feeling that can only be translated as 'don't leave, don't leave, don't leave' - and he's got no clue if it's from Cera or if it's his own feelings. And unlike the mystery of which feelings and urges are his own and which are Iselmyr's, he's happy with the question being there.

Eder comes in with a piece of bloody paper in his hand, and says "Well, this was in the pockets of one of the Key members down in the basement. Take a look, its orders to kill Cera. Her description, where she's known to be - here - and people who might have a lead on where she'd go if she's not here."

Aloth lets out a few words he learned from Iselmyr, making Eder and Sagani smirk at him and Iselmyr herself start cracking up inside him.

Sagani says "So there's likely more inside the keep somewhere. Maybe."

Eder nods, and says "Came to tell you, seeing as they seemed real damn determined to do the deed and all. How's she doin'?"

Sagani says "Alive. Sleeping, but alive."

Aloth says "I'll make sure nobody gets to her. You two go search the grounds." They trade knowing smirks, but don't even argue the plan.

* * *

Cera comes to with a sharp feeling of pain in her side and the rest of her body _aching_. She feels hot, her body feels sluggish and heavy, and her head is pounding - all of which results in a groan escaping her as soon as she registers everything. She quickly realizes she's not alone when a wet piece of cloth is laid on her forehead and Aloth's voice says "Easy, Cera. Don't try to sit up."

 _Wasn't planning on it…_ "Ow, even using my powers makes my head hurt."

"I'm not surprised about that, Sagani says what they used would have killed you with a little more time."

She moans and then the rag leaves her forehead for a minute and she hears it being wrung out before its put back where it was. He takes her hand in both of his, and she asks "Where are…"

"We're back in Brighthollow, it's been a few hours since we got out of the Endless Paths. The others are around the Keep, looking for more Leaden Key agents."

"Mm…find any?"

"Not as of yet, I think. None have come to try and finish you off, anyway. You need anything?"

She tries for a weak grin, and jokingly says "You mean aside from a different soul, new body, and better luck with ambushes? Water please, I feel like I could drink a river dry."

Aloth gives her a pained smile, and says "At least you can still joke about stuff like this, I don't know how."

"Better than crying about it. Like when I left home. Didn't take any extra clothes, but that just meant I could design my own wardrobe instead of it being handed to me according to my parents tastes." She lets out a weak laugh, which turns into a moan with her hands on her head and her curls up on her side. She feels a third hand rest on her head for a moment before running through her hair, and opens her eyes to see Aloth with a worried expression on his face.

When she reassures him that her head won't explode, he gently helps her turn over onto her back again, then holds up a glass full of water for her - at least her throat isn't feeling like it's as dry as Ixamitl now. After she's drained the glass dry, Aloth helps her sit up enough so that she's leaning into the pillows - not sitting fully up, but enough that she can eat and drink. The fact that she's using her Cipher powers to block her pain helps a lot - though something tells her that all the pain blocking in the world wouldn't keep her on her feet if she tries to stand up. She closes her eyes for a minute, then feels Aloth's hand under her chin steadying her. When she opens her eyes again, he's maybe a few inches from her and looking worried once again. "I'm fine…"

His lips twitch into a frown for a moment, and he leans closer saying "Cera, you've been poisoned."

His hand leaves her chin, but he doesn't move back - and Cera immediately notices how he has to _sit_ on his hands to keep them still, but takes them back out from under his legs after a minute. The hand further away from him reaches over to still his hands, and then suddenly they're both leaning forward. Cera reaches up to put her other hand on his shoulder - whether to steady herself or pull him closer she couldn't say if she had the rest of eternity - and then a bolt of pain suddenly hits her side where the bandage is.

* * *

Aloth's face is maybe inches from Cera's, they're both caught up in the moment, and then its ruined just before it could begin when she suddenly lets out a gasp of pain and her hands fly to her bandaged side. Aloth snaps out of it - mentally berating himself for _nearly kissing Cera_ \- and quickly presses his own hands to stop the bandage from turning even redder than it already is. His own cheek hurts a little, Cera's hand having caught him by accident as she suddenly started bleeding again, but he hardly cares about _a scratch_ when her side is bleeding again _._

Cera gasps "Must've…stretched…too far…"

After a few minutes, he's pretty sure they've stopped the bleeding - or at least slowed it - and Cera seems to have regained her focus enough to make it hurt less. She then looks up, likely to thank him, when her eyes stop dead on his cheek and the slight wetness he can feel on it. "What happened?! You weren't hurt when I woke up!"

Her good hand snatches up the wet rag that was entirely forgotten and presses it to his face. To think that she can be worried about a shallow little scratch on his face when her side was bleeding not a minute before. "Cera, its nothing. I'm fine, I swear."

"You didn't have that scratch on your face when I woke up, Aloth! How'd…it was me, wasn't it? When…gods, I'm so-"

Aloth doesn't let her finish that sentence, cupping her face in his hands and making her look at him. "Cera, its nothing. A scratch, that's all."

"One I gave you."

Aloth shakes his head and says "Your side started bleeding! I seriously doubt an accidental scratch compares."

Before she can argue, the door bursts open and Eder comes in followed by all the dogs - Rusty, the puppy they found in the Iron Flail fort, being the first and most excited. "I didn't find any more Leaden Key members, but I did find a few visitors for you."

Aloth quickly lets go of Cera's face, using picking Rusty up as an excuse - and when Cera is thoroughly distracted by getting her face licked profusely by the puppy, he sends Eder a look that says 'not one single word, or I'll hex you permanently.' The farmhand gets the hint well enough, merely smirking and rolling his hand in a 'get a move on!' motion.

The rest of the dogs jump onto the bed, some getting their front paws on the bed while others just pin Cera underneath their weight and proceed to lick her as much as possible. Eder mumbles "Maybe they were too excited to see you. Oops."

Cera's voice is filled with laughter though, as she calls out _Trapped under a dogpile, guys! Please get some of them off me!_

Eder's chuckling as he picks up one of the bigger ones, and he and Aloth free Cera before she can suffocate under all the dogs. They're all laughing by the time they get most of the dogs off of Cera, though she keeps Rusty beside her.

When Aloth and Eder leave Cera's room, Eder asks "So what was going on when I walked in?"

Aloth turns bright red and says "Not what you think, Eder. Cera accidentally scratched me and I was trying to calm her down."

"So how'd she scratch your face by accident?"

"…No comment."

Eder raises his eyebrows, and asks "No kidding? You kissed her?"

Aloth makes a 'quiet!' gesture and looks at the closed door down the hall, then quietly says "Nearly. And then her side started bleeding again. She scratched me by accident when she went to stop the bleeding."

"Oh."

"Do. Not. Laugh."

Eder shakes his head, holding one hand over his mouth.

"I mean it, Eder."

He nods his head, starting to snicker despite his obvious efforts to not do so.

* * *

Cera shakes her head as she hears Eder's sudden laughter, though she has no idea what it's about _._

 _I can't believe I nearly kissed Aloth. Would have to, if my side hadn't started bleeding. What was I thinking?!_

She knows what: she wasn't thinking. She was giving in to what she _desperately_ wants for just a minute, seems she's had one too many near-death experiences for today. She can't help wondering what would have happened if she hadn't lost all her focus and her side hadn't started bleeding though.

 _Damn side. Damn feelings._

* * *

 **AN: Alright, next chapter is up! Yes, the Leaden Key ambush really does happen if you finish Kana's quest. I just added the part about the poisoned knife, because why not? They seem really determined in the game after all, ambushing you randomly in Defiance Bay in the middle of the day multiple times - and they're supposed to be a secret organization. Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of discretion involved there, to be entirely honest. At any rate, yes, I'm getting back to the rest of the game soon!**


	26. Chapter 25

A few days after the Leaden Key tried to assassinate both Kana and Cera, the group made its way back into Defiance Bay and headed straight for the Sanitarium - everybody's more than ready to stop the Leaden Key for good. And they got ambushed by the group once again, though this time nothing nearly as fatal happened to Cera or her friends. Cera mutters "Thaos must be getting desperate, if he's sending people after us this much - in broad daylight to!"

Pallegina nods, and says "You've likely meddled in his plans more than anyone in many years has even by accident. That tends to get someone's attention, Amica."

Cera nods grimly, and then they get into the Sanitarium. Cera walks up to Ethelomoer's statue, which greets them warmly, asking "What brings you back here, Watcher?"

"We believe there's a member of a group known as the Leaden Key in your Sanitarium, Ethelomoer."

They're fully expecting him to have no idea of the group - so it's quite the surprise when he doesn't sound all that surprised about the name or the fact that one of them may be in the place. "I only wish I didn't know what you were talking about. From time to time, some of their less skilled infiltrators get uncovered. Never very good sources of information though. And whenever they get exposed, disaster is right on their heels or has already struck - and it's impossible to know whether it struck on its own or whether they had a hand in it. By all means, feel free to find this latest infiltrator. Where do you think they are this time?"

Cera says "It's just easier to show you, if you wouldn't mind."

"Please, I'd love to be of some help." A minute later, one where Cera zoned out for a minute staring at the statue, Ethelomoer says "That's the North Ward, where we keep the most…unstable of the patients isolated for their safety as well as everyone else's. Some of them are rather…volatile, if you know what I mean. Do be careful."

They thank him, and then head downstairs past all the animancers - and Cera's careful to make sure Bellasage isn't coming out of her office any time soon, much to Aloth's relief. Because bets are she at least has her suspicions about why her notes went missing.

* * *

When they get to where they keep the patients, its nothing like upstairs with the comfortable chairs and brightly-lit rooms - it looks more like a dungeon than anything else they can imagine. Aloth barely manages to hide his disgust, _this_ is how they treat their patients?

Cera's mind brushes his, and he hears her whisper in his head. _Like I said, appearances don't say much, Aloth. But this isn't what I saw, not entirely. It's close though._

Her own sadness and sympathy passes to him - with the uncomfortable knowledge that this place may well be her next home mixed in somewhere - and he suddenly looks over to see her next to him. He doesn't even think about it before squeezing her hand gently - he does feel a reaction in her for a split second before she quickly cuts the connection between them. Far too brief for him to figure out _what_ she was feeling, but the fact that she doesn't slip her hand out of his is one thing. The fact that she won't look at him while their hands are clasped is another.

When they get into the North Wing, it's depressing and extremely isolated - at least there was a common area in the last section of the building. Here, each of the patients stays in their assigned rooms - cells converted to a new use, they all suspect - and the guards are everywhere.

Cera looks at each door, an expression of both horror and sympathy growing on her face as she reads or hears something from each of the occupants. In front of one cell, she stops and gets a horrified look on her face followed by sympathy and no small amount of pain - and the name on the door says 'Gram', they'll have to ask about him later. Because Cera violently flinches when Sagani puts a hand on her arm to ask what was wrong - being a Cipher isn't all that great sometimes, apparently.

And then they come to a door and her expression turns to pure confusion. "What? I'm not…I'm not getting anything from in here. Ethelomoer was certain that all the cells had occupants though…"

When Pallegina looks inside, there is indeed a person in there - a human, little more than a boy really, lying slumped on the floor and staring blankly into space. When they cautiously go inside, he doesn't react whatsoever - making Cera all the more suspicious of this man, something must be up. It's when she peers at him through the Ether, that she sees another man inside of him - Thaos. Looks like Lady Webb was right about his soul being able to move into another kith's body. She narrows her eyes, then she's locked in what appears to be a staring contest with a guy who has done nothing but stare at them glassily.

After maybe a minute, a tense one for everyone but Cera, she suddenly cries out and whirls around. "He's getting away!"

All of them look confused until some of the constructs step forward somehow menacingly. Eder asks "Didn't you say Thaos could possess kith?"

"Kith, constructs, if it moves he can use it."

"Great. You learn anything from him?"

"Oh, a few things. Like how he's been sabotaging Animancy experiments - including one in Copperlane where Caedman Azo was humiliated, outcast, and his entire career nearly destroyed altogether. Was a rather big one, though the name escapes me at the moment. He tried to implant a proxy soul in a Hollowborn girl, unknowing that Thaos was occupying her and destroyed the machine and the public's view of Animancy."

Itumaak barks suddenly, and then all the patient doors swing open apparently on their own - Thaos is really trying to kill them without making it look like he did then. Aloth nervously asks "Cera, you wouldn't happen to remember that skill of yours from the Iron Flail Fort, would you?"

"Yeah. Something I only use in emergencies."

"Amica, I'd consider this an emergency. Wouldn't you?"

Cera's voice quietly says "I do." She stills suddenly, and then all the patients and constructs do the same. Her face twitches in multiple expressions at once - horror, pain, concentration - and then the patients go back to their cells and close the doors of their own accords and the constructs return to their patrols and posts.

Kana says "Cera, that is definitely one of the most useful talents I've ever seen."

Cera's gone pale, either from the effort of controlling at least a dozen patients and constructs or from what she saw while doing so, and says "Yeah, well, lets get out of here. Ethelomoer will likely find a way to kill me for this, somehow, and he should probably know that Azo was experimenting again when it was forbidden for him to do so."

Aloth opens his mouth to ask what he was doing, but Cera's voice suddenly whispers in his head _You don't want to know, Aloth. Trust me, you don't want to know what kinds of things I saw in here._ Her voice in his head sounds so…small. Usually she's a quiet whisper, but she's never sounded quite like that. She said she was getting some horrifying visions back in Durgan's Battery - nearly every time she brushed a skeleton or held something in her hands - but even then it wasn't quite this bad. Maybe because the events were long-past and had no real relation to her at the time.

Before he can say anything though, Cera says "Thaos stirred up a Xaurip Tribe out there, he's got the entire common room in a frenzy. I can stop it, calm them down, but it won't be easy. C'mon, let's get to the door."

* * *

When they look out at the common room, it's a total disaster compared to the relative order it was in before. Yeah, it was crowded and slightly noisy, but it was general chatter between patients, not the screaming and wild fighting they see now.

Eder incredulously asks "You can calm _that_ down?!"

Everyone, even Cera, agrees it won't be easy - that doesn't mean she won't give it a try. More guards are already on the way to try and subdue the crowd, and Cera mutters "Ethelomoer is going to murder us himself. Somehow." She focuses on the room on the other side of the door, going absolutely still and getting a look of concentration even harder than at the Iron Flail fort - none of them even thought that was _possible_ \- and then all at once the fighting stops. They all look incredibly confused, but nobody around Cera notices that as she collapses to the floor while holding her head and everyone's head starts hurting inexplicably for a solid minute until it suddenly cuts off.

Explanation: Cera's powers connected all their minds to hers for a minute. Maybe all their minds to each other's as well, but it was impossible to tell as all they could feel was a lot of pain.

Pallegina looks out and says "Amica, you did it. Pain in our heads or no, everyone out there has suddenly calmed down."

"Nghh…" That's the most coherent thing Cera can respond with at the moment - she must've stretched herself a little thin with that stunt. Most couldn't even attempt to do something like it on a lesser scale, from what Aloth's read in the Caed Nua library at any rate, and even Cera's formidable powers were stretched to their limit with that feat. Going from one patient to the next wouldn't have worked, as they'd just keep getting attacked by others, so she connected and freed them from Thaos' control all at once - a much harder feat than _starting_ the riot, as he would only have had to possess a few of them long enough to start the chaos and then watch as the panic ensued or leave.

When they get upstairs, Ethelomoer immediately asks "What happened down there?!" Cera is on her feet - though being supported by Aloth - and says "I'll just show you instead."

After a moment, she moans and puts a hand to her head, and Ethelomoer says, with a little awe in his voice, "I've heard of accounts of people with the ability to do this. One even goes as far as suggesting it's all the same man."

Cera grimaces, and says "That one may be the most accurate. Lady Webb says a man named Thaos ix Arkannon…you might say he's cheating the Wheel. Reborn exactly the same man since Engwithan times, Awakened during adolescence, and picking up right where he left off with his death."

She suddenly claps a hand to her head and moans, nearly falling to the floor except Aloth catches her weight with his closer arm. Kana says "I'm no expert on Ciphers, but I'm fairly sure that someone in Dunryd Row must be able to help. This started when she snapped all the patients and guards out of the panic Thaos caused, maybe someone there will be able to at least tell us what's wrong."

Eder says "Yeah…don't we gotta stop by there anyway? Give Lady Webb an update on the Leaden Key's activities?" Cera nods, wincing as she does so.

* * *

When they get inside, Lady Webb happens to be downstairs talking with a Cipher. She's still alive then, big surprise as nobody had seen her in years. She seems incredibly old, but her gaze is every bit as sharp as Cera's - and word is she's a powerful Cipher, so there's that as well.

She raises an eyebrow at the sight of Cera still being supported, and says "I heard there was a commotion at the Sanitarium. Can I assume it was something to do with Thaos?"

Eder nods, and says "Creepy old guy, Awakened Cera's soul, has been sabotaging the Sanitarium for a while? Yeah, he started a big mess - Cera stopped it, but now…" He just gestures to her, which is honestly all that needs to be done. She really doesn't look good at all, and when they got out of the Sanitarium she said something about everything being too loud.

Lady Web looks at her for a moment, then says "She stretched her mind out a little too far, connected it with too many at once. You said she stopped the riot Thaos caused?" Aloth nods, eying Lady Webb's hand as she turns Cera's face up to look at her. "The sheer amount of panic, all the emotions she was feeling all at once…it hurts. I know from experience. She'll be fine with some rest and some quiet - away from the city, preferably. Anything else?"

Cera moans "Dyrford…Cliban Rilag…" Kana lights up and starts describing what the Leaden Key did in the ruins, and how the machines are causing the Legacy.

Lady Webb goes still, and says "By the gods. The Leaden Key is framing Animancy for Waidwen's Legacy. They're determined to see Animancy's fall, and this might actually do it."

* * *

 **AN: Alright, the next chapter is up! Yes, I didn't really think it was fair to have to kill all the innocent patients just because Thaos stirred up trouble. And, yeah, I was feeling pretty bad for Garm and the other patients and I can't really imagine being psychic would have been very amazing right then either. As for the Animancy Hearing, it's coming soon! Promise! Just be patient - haha, very funny. Anyway, enjoy! Reviews are appreciated! More chapters coming soon!**


	27. Chapter 26

A few hours after the entire disaster at the Brackenbury Sanitarium, Duc Aevar announces that there will be a hearing to decide the fate of Animancy - it'll be held in about a month, and Cera and her friends have been called to testify as to what happened in the Sanitarium.

They head back to Caed Nua, Cera determined that if she is going to die insane, she'll at least die in a safe home that's not being continuously threatened by shades, spiders, Adra Beetles, and the like from the Endless Paths. They already cleared seven levels, and by now they're all getting the idea that the statue was carved with blood as well as copper and adra.

The Fampyr on the eighth floor confirms that little suspicion, and conveniently promises to stay on his floor and not cause trouble.

There's plenty of other dangers on the next few floors, but the next big shock comes when they reach the twelfth or thirteenth floor and find a Vithrack encampment. The guards attack them on sight, but their leader, Tcharek, is a little less shoot-first-and-ask-questions-never. He does ask them to get some stuff from the floor below, as they've lost some scouts and warriors to the Animants and Cean Gwyla.

Pallegina says "Before we go down, might we rest for a bit? It's been a challenge getting this far."

Tcharek nods and whispers into their heads _May stay. Rest well._

They all settle down for a few hours, Pallegina taking her sword out to polish it, Eder filling up his pipe for a smoke, etc. And all of them suddenly realize one member of their party is inconspicuously _missing_. Cera. The girl that is either the least susceptible or the most susceptible to the Vithracks' mental powers.

Aloth and Eder go looking for her, figuring she won't have left the floor if she did leave the colony. Eder asks "You really think she…what? Up and walked off?"

"Remember what happened with the Radiant Spore back in Stalwart? How it controlled the Vithrack colony and they started controlling the miners?"

"Yeah, but these guys aren't controlled by a freaky plant thing. And Cera hasn't breathed in anymore spores since she did it that one time to free the other Vithrack and kill the spore. 'Sides, I really thought for a minute that she was gonna be the one controlling it when she pulled that stunt."

Aloth snickers, vividly imagining the vines tying themselves into knots and wrapping around the main plant. The farmhand hears and jokingly says "Hey, maybe she'd have them do a dance or something! Vines waving around, the big middle thing swaying back and forth - would'a been pretty entertaining while we hacked it to pieces."

Aloth bursts out laughing, both him and Iselmyr thoroughly amused by the idea, and then they hear Cera's voice from around the corner - asking about Vithrack mental techniques. "Really? Your kind can make a mental web with each other? How hard is it to keep up?" They hear a series of hissing and clicking, must be Tcharek answering, and Cera says "This is so incredible! I've only ever met one other colony of Vithrack before, and most of them weren't…in the mood to talk, let's say."

They round the corner to find Cera sitting at a table with Tcharek, looking curiously at the Vithrack leader as he clicks and hisses something else while apparently saying something in her mind. He taps his head and Cera smiles and blushes slightly, saying "Thank you. Though at times they're more of a curse. Too much to process all at once sometimes."

The Vithrack turns his head slightly and clicks something in what appears to be a greeting, and then the two men feel the familiar itch in the back of their minds and hear _Human and Elf need something?_ C

era turns around and smiles, saying "The Vithrack are absolutely amazing! They've developed techniques that even all of Dunryd Row hasn't thought up yet! Projecting the consciousness to another person, for instance. Some of the most powerful Vithrack have experienced dozens of lives at once! All across the area, lying in the background of a person's mind. Experiencing everything, but not directly influencing anything."

Tcharek asks _Wish to learn? Like elf-woman with mind like Vithrack?_

Eder shakes his head and says "No, sorry. We came looking for Cera as she's got this interesting habit of nearly collapsing from exhaustion at times. That and the fact that she may possibly wander off and connect with something better off left alone."

There's a repetitive chittering from Tcharek, which they realize after a minute is him _laughing_. Cera fakes an offended look, and half-sarcastically says "Thank you for that lovely description of me, Eder. Really. Now why are you two really here?"

"Aloth was getting twitchy about your disappearance. We went to look, seeing as Kana was talking with another Vithrack, Pallegina was polishing her sword, and Sagani was mapping out the floors to figure out how much farther the statue, and the Endless Paths by association, might go. She figures we've passed the knees by now, if that helps at all."

"Ah, right. Thank you, that's…that's good. The Endless Paths may have an end after all."

They all laugh a little, and then Tcharek looks at the three of them, then directly at Cera and chitters and clicks something. Cera immediately turns a shade of red to rival Magran's fires and the people she 'blesses' and starts stammering out "What? No, no, no, you've got the wrong idea!" _Tcharek, please don't ask them!_

He clicks and chitters out another laugh, making Cera's face nearly _glow_ in the dim lighting, and Aloth asks "What's he asking?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all, Aloth!" She darts past the two of them, failing to hide the fact that she can't even _look_ at Aloth at the moment, making Eder burst out in laughter.

Aloth, for one, looks confused as he asks "What just happened?"

Tcharek stares after Cera for a minute, then connects to their minds and asks _What happened?_

Eder says "That depends on what you just asked her. What was it?"

 _Elf-things…mates?_

Now its Aloth's turn to go bright red, and he to stammers out a denial and quickly leaves the farmhand with the Vithrack. Tcharek looks immensely confused as Eder gives in to his hysterical laughter, ending up sitting on the floor and holding his sides as tears stream down his face. _What…I say?_

"You hit the nail on the head, that's what! Those two have been dancing around each other almost since Gilded Vale, each coming up with excuses. Everyone else can see it, but they are either oblivious to the other's feelings or think there'll be all this time after everything's said and done to work it out somehow."

… _Oh._

"Yeah, oh. And at this point, that's what should be driving Cera insane - I'm pretty sure Aloth's going nuts over it." Tcharek tilts his head, but doesn't make any kind of response.

Eventually, Eder goes back to the others to find Cera apparently sleeping - or faking sleeping in order to avoid questions like the ones brewing in his head - Aloth buried in the back of Ninagauth's Grimoire and occasionally sneaking glances over it at him, and the others almost exactly as they'd left them with little change. Pallegina's moved up from the hilt of her sword, etc.

Eder gives Aloth a smirking glance, which he responds to by putting the book up further, and asks nobody in particular "What happened to Cera?"

Kana says "She came back, looking somewhat mortified, and hurriedly said she'd rest before we went down to the lower level. What happened?"

Aloth immediately says "Nothing! In fact, I think I'll follow her example!" He quickly shoves the book back inside his bag, nearly throwing himself down onto the bedroll he's sitting on, and turns so he's facing away from all of them.

All four of their friends barely manage to suppress their laughter, suddenly getting a pretty good idea of what 'didn't' happen. They don't say a word though, just share a series of looks asking each other when the heck the two elves will finally get their acts together and get together already.

* * *

When they next meet Tcharek, its with arms full of copper, Cera holding an Adra crystal carefully, and Eder and Kana wearing pieces of the Animant shell in jest and to make it easier to get back upstairs.

Tcharek clicks out his laugh once again, and offers them a beautiful knife in return along with his gratitude and deep thanks. Cera seems enchanted by the knife, and sticks it in her belt - just in case an enemy gets in too close, she's got no ideas about running up to where at least three people with much bigger blades are fighting and maybe get her head sliced off by accident.

And Krivi comes running up to Cera, clicking and hissing something that apparently she understands - he likely connected with her head, because she looks _really_ interested by it. "Um, be right back guys. Krivi says he found something to show me."

She follows him, responding to his excited speech they don't understand, then suddenly asks "What? Let's go!" She darts off, and Krivi has to follow her.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them come back with some ancient books for Kana - one of them is apparently Od Nua's journal, they'll have to translate it after all this.

Krivi gives Cera a confused look, but she apparently says something to him via her mental powers and he doesn't say anything else. At Eder's questioning look, he simply says into his mind _Other book. Surprise._

* * *

 **AN: Yes, I'm still alive, everyone! And I didn't give up on this story, I've had tests to take and study for. If anyone's wondering I am going to do a chapter for the bottom of the dungeon, don't worry about that! Just be patient, especially for Aloth and Cera to finally get together. A few more chapters to go for that! Enjoy! More chapters to be posted soon!**


	28. Chapter 27

They finally get down to the last floor of the Endless Paths of Od Nua - and the Master Below wasn't Od Nua, though his spirit was in the floor just above. Tied to this realm by his grief.

Turns out he tried to bring his son back from beyond the Shroud, tear it away from his rest or new life by force. The many floors above, at least since the Engwithan architecture, all the lives lost and horrifying experiments were to understand where a soul goes after death and to bring one specific one back - intact, and with the memories of being Maros Nua. The statue was to house Maros' soul, carved in his likeness and spanning _fifteen floors_ and the fingers just sticking up out of the ground. They can't imagine how much time, trouble, and patience that thing took to make - its _gigantic._

* * *

Cera freezes when they get onto the path to the bottom of the floor, her expression one of total shock and disbelief. "Eder?"

"Yeah?"

"You've still got that shield we found on the Battery roof, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"We're either going to be dragon slayers after this…or dragon food. The Master Below is down there." She points to what looks like a massive piece of Adra - and then, on closer inspection, they see the pile moving rhythmically. It's breathing.

When they make their way down to the ground floor, with a plan of 'spread out and _stay alive and kill this thing_ ', it opens its eye and looks at them with something as close to amusement as a dragon can get. Her voice rings out, female and _loud_ , "So, you've finally come to the end. Past hundreds of skeletons, Xaurips, cannibal ogres, spiders, and beetles. To me, the Master Below."

Cera straightens almost automatically, and asks "What's a Dragon doing all the way down here? Underneath a castle?"

"I came down here as a Wurm, sneaking past Od Nua's researchers, construction workers, all the way to nearly the heart of the world. Where the Adra veins converge before descending to the world's core. They never noticed me back then, small and silent as I was. Now, they'd be hard-pressed to miss me. Were they still here."

She rears her head up, then cocks her head and looks at Cera with something like curiosity. "You…I recognize you. How far you've come from your lofty beginnings. Your dresses and slippers - the rules and obligations aplenty."

Cera goes still for a minute, then slowly asks "You…know that?"

"My body may well be trapped down here, but the mind wanders. Like yours can, like a Cipher such as yourself. I've lived in the background of hundreds of lives, all across the world. Workers, farmers, nobility and peasant. Your life, I came across while you were smaller than one of my scales. You fascinated me, for never had I found a mind such as my own. I was highly amused by your choice to leave, and by your parents' attempts to process the fact."

"Wait…how long? How long were you…with me?" She seems suddenly anxious - like there's something she suddenly knows and is rather worried about.

"You started talking to me. You could tell I was there, likely because of your powers. Your parents were highly unamused, told you to never fabricate any 'imaginary friends' ever again. They quickly discovered your powers were real when you then asked if your father truly thought you were a disgrace to the family. I can still remember the look on his face, and I laughed so hard I would have spewed fire."

Kana incredulously asks "Cera…your friends…with a _dragon?!_ "

Cera shrugs and says "I'd…I'd forgotten that detail, though I didn't know Sefyra is a dragon. But…if you can be anybody you want in the world…why come back? You said once you were trapped…you meant here, didn't you?"

"Yes, you always were a bright one. I am trapped here. What am I to do, dig myself out of your keep when the Adra finally runs out? The flesh always calls me back. It takes many years now, a lifetime for a human, but it always calls me back eventually. I've been feeding on the Adra Statue for so long now that I am inextricably bound to it, and it serves as a conduit for my travels. Though, even this cannot last. One day, the Adra will run dry. I will starve - but that won't be for many years."

Cera casts her eyes to the ground, and quietly says "I'm sorry. I wish I could help you, Sefyra."

"You cannot. None can. Not as a Cipher, not as a Watcher."

"Wait, I'm a Watcher. What if I bound your soul to the Keep? A territory you'd never lose, yet you'd be free to feel the sun and the wind."

Sefyra cocks her head and seems to consider, and Aloth hesitantly asks "Cera, are you sure about this? What…how…are you even capable of doing this? Not to insult, but…"

Cera puts a hand on his shoulder, saying "I realized I could do it back in Durgan's Battery. When I freed the Dwarves' souls. I could have bound them to the Forge itself, or the cannons - I chose instead to set them free. It was the same with Maerwald, I cut him loose instead of binding him to the Keep - here's hoping he gets a better lot in his next life."

Aloth nods, and then asks "But you're sure? Binding the soul of a dragon to the keep…it seems a bit extreme. Not that we've been doing things by halves lately or anything, but…"

"I get it, really, I do, Aloth. But the Master Below is a dragon. She's _ancient,_ and very capable of killing us all right now. But if I bound her to the Keep as a kind of Warden…"

Eder quietly says "I can imagine there's worse guards, at the very least. Dragons and their territory, you know."

Everybody can tell it seems the best solution - one that doesn't end with them in Sefyra's stomach at any rate - and Cera binds Sefyra's soul to the Keep grounds.

Well, now the place has one very good Warden, and the Master Below won't be sending up monsters anymore. All in all, not a terrible ending.

* * *

Of course, when they're about halfway back up through the Endless Paths, Sefyra's voice sounds in Cera's mind. _Hatchling, it seems it was a god idea to bind me to the grounds. Two Kith, both elves, a male and female, just entered the keep. They are armed, though not as you are. And one of them seems intent on dominating and destroying you and taking your territory for himself._

 _Oh no, is his name Arlerdr Gathbin? Nevermind, the answer is yes. I can feel his arrogance from all the way down here. Thank you, Sefyra._

 _I'll be heavily amused when you deal with him._

Cera focuses past Gathbin's arrogance and self-entitled attitude - which she _hates so much, honestly_ \- and finds Captain Emery's mind.

 _Captain Emery, I know you're on the Keep grounds._

 _What? Who-_

 _You must remember me, we sized each other up back in Defiance Bay after all._

 _Your…Lady Cera._

 _Correct, I thought you were smart when we first met. So, why are you two here, hm?_

 _If your contacting me, then you must already know. I pegged you for a smart one as well. And Gathbin here has you pegged for a soft fool that is easily overthrown. Stories of your kindness and generosity abound, all through the Dyrwood. Kolsc in Gilded Vale nearly had us killed when Lord Gathbin tried to recruit him in the cause of taking Caed Nua from you. The Duc in Defiance Bay flat out refused and had us escorted out of the palace. The people of Dyrford knew of you and nearly revolted against us. And all the locals either swore as colorfully as the Adra gleam or slammed the door in Gathbin's face wherever he went. Seems his reputation precedes him as well._

 _And it's far from a good one, from what I've heard. That would be why there's just the two of you. But tell me something, Captain. Why are you working for him? Really?_

 _The man is swine, albeit noble, wealthy swine. If I had the chance to leave, I would take it. I doubt I'd have accepted the position if I had my current knowledge back then._

 _Well, what would you do if things changed?_

 _Say, if he were dead? I don't fully know. Perhaps I'd work for an honorable lady - but Gathbin won't simply let me leave his service. Oh, and he means to take Caed Nua by force - though you likely know that by now. As nobody would agree to help seize it from you and destroy you, he has no army. He's turned to less-open methods as a result. Hoping to ambush you and kill you before you can react - though your reflexes suggest he'd end up sprawled on the ground in agony from your mysterious purple fire._

 _I'll deal with him, Emery. He should be really glad he didn't own Caed Nua though, the place was a complete mess, needed thousands in renovations and repairs, and there was until recently a dragon living at the bottom of the basement. She's the new Warden, by the way._

 _You've got a DRAGON as your new groundswarden?!_

 _You'd be surprised how a territorial, ancient-beyond-comprehension, well-traveled soul such as Sefyra's makes for an excellent groundswarden. Besides, she can't hurt anybody now._

 _…if you say so, Lady Cera. But…are you sure you can deal with Gathbin? He's arrogant and cruel, but he's also been trained in battle._

 _My life since coming here has been incredibly…exciting, let's say. I've been in more battles than I have fingers and toes to count them on. Back to my original point, I'm in need of a good captain for the guards - the last one died about a week ago from a bandit attack and I'm still searching for a good replacement. And Gathbin doesn't seem the type to hire anything but the best - or have anything but the best._

 _You'd…you'd hire me as the captain of the guards?!_

 _Why not? You seem like a good fighter, after all. Or is 'Captain Emery' your full name?_

 _Fair enough. But you'll still have to beat him, you know._

 _Captain Emery, I'm going to be really up-front about this. I'm currently exhausted. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since the day before the caravan I was in while traveling to Gilded Vale got attacked by Glanfathans. I'm on nearly my wit's end, and have recently discovered that an incredibly ancient dragon has been living under the Keep. I'm not in the mood to deal with Arlerdr Gathbin, and that means he's not going to be in Eora much longer. I can detonate his soul, make it leak energy and set him on fire, or I can just disintegrate him. Either way, he picked the wrong day for this and I'm not going to just give up my home - my fully repaired home, no less - just because some arrogant, self-entitled noble has a distant family claim to the land but refused to follow the Erl's decree and so lost it to me. And besides, even if he hadn't, the Keep apparently has a will of its own and chose me as the next Master after Maerwald died. So I'm guessing simply kicking me out would have backfired on him._

When they open the hatch behind the chapel, sure enough they find Lord Gathbin and Captain Emery standing there. Chancellor Warrin and Marshal Forwyn are there as well, Warrin looking nervous and Forwyn looking ready to whip his sword out at a move from Gathbin.

Cera, for one, has had _enough_ for one day - Gathbin is just about the last thing she can deal with, it's just a good thing her parents haven't decided to come back with an army to drag her home or anything. Gathbin smiles arrogantly, but Cera beats him to the punch by deadpanning "Let me guess, you want to kill me. Tough luck, others have tried and failed already."

Instead of answering, he charges and swings his sword at her. She nimbly dodges, looking like she expected it completely.

"Yeah, Arledr? Thing about fighting a Cipher, we can see exactly what your planning on doing before you do it."

That only seems to make him angrier - and all the others, who Cera pre-told to let it be between the two of them, more and more amused.

Finally, his sword flies from his grip in an over-enraged swing that went right over Cera's head and buried the sword twenty meters away sticking out of the ground. Gathbin makes the very stupid decision to charge Cera, thinking he could take her on hand-to-hand - she lets him get close, then whips up her knife, unconsciously igniting it in purple fire and burying it in his chest along with a knife made from her powers in her other hand.

The look on Gathbin's face is one of pure shock, and then he topples over sideways with his robe getting stained red. Everyone just silently stares for a minute, then Eder finally breaks the silence by casually asking "Since when have you been able to make a knife with your fire?"

"Since just now. I think I need to…" _Thump!_

Sagani smacks her hand to her forehead, and says "I'll get her to Brighthollow. Aloth, you wouldn't mind escorting Captain Emery to the Steward, would you?"

"No, I don't. Captain, please follow me."

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, I finally got this chapter posted! And yes, I did think a fight with a dragon would realistically end with them all getting cooked through. Sefyra's comments on the Watcher's background got me imagining, and so Cera's knowing Sefyra in a way came to be! Cera sensed Sefyra's presence, talked to her - an 'imaginary' friend that was far from imaginary. Anyway, I'll really try to update more - and there's only a few chapter left until Aloth and Cera _finally_ get together, promise! Enjoy! Reviews are much appreciated!**


	29. Chapter 28

When Cera wakes up, she's fully expecting to find Aloth in the room - she finds Sagani instead. Leaning against a wall and carving a piece of wood, the dwarf woman doesn't look at all surprised when Cera sits up on her bed in Brighthollow.

One look at Sagani's expression says something's very wrong. "If my parents are back, tell them I'm at the bottom of Caed Nua and they can come find me themselves."

Sagani chuckles, and says "No, nothing like that. You ever hear of Concelhaut?"

"Yeah…he invented a bunch of spells. Aloth says he's one of the greatest wizards this generation. I heard he's an archmage, so he's got to be good - why?"

"Well, his tower's nearby and he's under siege."

"What?!"

* * *

The six of them get to Cragholdt, and find yes, there is an army camped outside of the bluff - one that's in ruins, from what Cera can discern. There aren't that many minds left to pull information from, but apparently someone hired these guys to kill Concelhaut and take some artifact called an Engwithan Phylactery.

From what Cera can tell about the siege, it hasn't gone at all well - the army arrived, set up camp and siege weapons, and then night fell and out of the tower came undead. She has her eyes closed and searching all through the camp for a good fifteen seconds, and finally opens them and says "Almost none of the mercenaries are left. Killed in various ways, some trolls lurking nearby, the undead that came out of Concelhaut's tower when they breached it. Mostly the undead. There's a handful of people left, up past the command post. Maybe we could find some answers there, but…" She looks warily at the tower itself, not at the camp set up around it, and says "There are people in there. People who didn't think something as mundane as a simple siege worth stepping outside the tower and interrupting whatever they're working on. Powerful wizard or not, I'd think one would go see the people trying to kill you. The gods know I do."

* * *

They get inside the tower, and are immediately stopped by a dead-eyed man who says someone named 'Tanoss' wants to speak with them.

Cera glances around very warily, and quietly connects to their minds for a minute. _There's a web here. I can feel it. And that guy was connected to it, like a fly caught in a spiderweb. Or with one piece of silk attached to its back. Whoever this Tanoss is, he's dangerous - a Cipher, perhaps. A Cipher with an Archmage wizard…we've seen crazier. Like a group of people led by a guy with a memory that dates back to Engwithan times and is currently spearheading the legacy._

She's got an excellent point, and they head to the room the glassy-eyed man motions towards. They walk inside, and find a Vithrack surrounded by about ten other thoroughly enthralled people with expressions to match the first guy's.

None of them need any mental powers to see the revulsion and horror pouring off of Cera like her soul turned into a generator for it - despite her powers, despite all she can do, even controlling people very briefly to avoid bloodshed, she'd never consider anything _remotely_ like this. This is just pure slavery, but without the whip - the other difference being the fact that there would be no rebelling against it.

Tanoss tells them that Concelhaut has him and three others competing for the privilege of being his apprentice, and that he gave each of them a part of a key - to get the other three, one of them will have to kill the other potential apprentices and take their key pieces; which Tanoss asks them to do to the other three apprentices. kill the other three apprentices while completing a spell to impress their master - Concelhaut clearly expects his apprentice to excel at multitasking then.

Tanoss is doing one to control the minds of his 'subjects' - victims, more like.

Pelden is the one responsible for the smell of embalming fluids and rotting flesh in the halls - something to do with undead then.

Sabel's room is radiating heat, and Tanoss can hear sizzling and bubbling when he listens hard enough.

And Uariki's room is without a doubt the most _normal_ of the rooms - no sounds, no heat, no smells, and no enthralled servants with glass-for-eyes and no will left in them.

And Cera gets the distinct feeling that they can't just leave the place - there's a hungry mind deeper in the tower, and it _knows_ they're there. And she's got a very terrible feeling that the mind is Concelhaut's. When they get outside of Tanoss' room, she whispers "Now I know why people are afraid of Ciphers. He's using a combination of his mental powers and the spell he's working on to enthrall those people. His powers may well be amplifying the spell, or vice versa. You all alright?"

They all nod, and Cera lets out a sigh of relief. "I was right, it is a spiderweb. And Tanoss is the spider sitting in the middle of it."

Sabel just immediately attacks them upon entering her room, giving them no warning of the metallic skeletons with swords. Pelden was indeed working with the undead, attempting to stabilize Guls, keep them from decaying further. They were actually almost tame, but his room was a horror show of tanks filled with fluids and creatures inside them and his experiments standing around the room. At least he's not enslaving people, that's what comes to Cera's mind anyway. Uariki's spell is definitely the best, in their opinions anyway - no dead people of any kind, no _living_ people enslaved, just a bunch of levitating weapons that could stab you through the heart.

Uariki tells them to watch out for Tanoss, as there's something about the Vithrack she doesn't trust. Cera nods and says "He's building a spell to control the minds of others. And he wants the key parts." It doesn't take a lot of convincing to make a deal - on either side, in all honesty. Cera's been getting twitchier by the moment about the entire place, Tanoss' mental web particularly, and nobody can really blame her - the prospect of getting betrayed by the Vithrack comes with a lot of obvious problems and such, and she's been feeling his mind almost following them throughout the place as they go. Likely to monitor whether or not they'll get the pieces or not. At least Uariki seems like a normal Kith, not playing around with dead beings or enslaving Kith. According to her, she's making the spell so that she can free her homeland.

* * *

They get into Concelhaut's office, all six kith on high alert after everything that's happened so far. When they get to the figure they can see seated at a long desk, they all stop in horror when they realize it's not a bony old man but more of a skeleton with a thin film of flesh draped on the bones. Turns out the Engwithan Phylactery isn't some necklace or machine - it's a spell lattice that was carved into Concelhaut's skull and sealed with an Adra peg, which must've hurt like nothing else. And he's trying to do some as-of-yet impossible magic - manipulate time.

Unfortunately, even an archmage can only draw so much power from the Ether at once on their own - and what he wants to do requires a lot more power than he currently can access at once. He has a solution though, he just needs a better connection to the Ether - Wizards draw power from the Ether with their own souls, so all he needs is the soul of a Watcher to better access the Ether and make time his greatest achievement. And lucky for him, he's got a Watcher right in front of him - unlucky for him, Cera's none too willing to give up her soul, troubled as it is. With her luck, she'd still be stuck with these past memories even while Concelhaut used her soul for his own ends.

She looks at Concelhaut's skull for a moment, inexplicably lit by some power and starting to float, then asks "Guys, you think Uariki has a hammer we could use? Also, Aloth, you think Concelhaut made up anymore spells between the last time he put any out and now?"

"Perhaps, I wouldn't put it past a man trying to bend time to his will…"

Cera says "His book is right there. Go nuts."

She's pointing at the massively thick book sitting on Concelhaut's desk, and its literally all Aloth can do not to immediately dash over and start pouring through it. The name 'The Ironclasped' is written on the front, and he tries to feign only a slight interest - like trying to slow a tidal wave down to a mere trickle - and immediately stops and stares when he sees a spell marked 'Concelhaut's Crushing Doom' in one of the back pages.

Cera says "Oh, and Tanoss hid his part of the key in here in his Grimoire."

The book is titled 'Willbreaker' on the front, how appropriate. There's nothing in there he hasn't seen before, some higher level spells but nothing that you can't find in the Arcane Knights Academy.

Cera glances at Concelhaut's skull, then says "I'll go find Uariki, tell her what happened. Hopefully she'll understand. Oh, what's that book on the desk? Another grimoire?"

They turn and look, seeing, yes, another spellbook that _most certainly_ wasn't there the last time Aloth looked. He turns to ask about it and finds Cera gone, long since out the doorway.

Eder snickers and says "Aloth, you do realize you'll have to find a miracle in order to even the score now, right?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

The farmhand facepalms, and says "She got you that magic ring, you got her the necklace. You got her that crossbow, she got you that _second_ ring, and then you switched the bows out when she was sleeping."

"Wait, you _knew-_ "

Sagani snorts out a laugh, and says "It was not at all hard to figure out, Aloth. Honestly. She said 'magic' - she knew it was you. She can read an object's history, if she really had to!"

Kana says "And the spellbook we found near the Battery, don't forget that."

Eder says "And now she's gone and gotten you two new Spellbooks, one of which is extremely dusty and looks like it's from the Endless Paths and the other is _another_ Archmage's spellbook. So, how exactly are you going to top it or even out the score?"

"You are reading way too many-" _Lad, as yer so fond o' sayin'…shut it! They're right, ye daft twit!_

 _Iselmyr, not now! Couldn't you add your opinion AFTER they're finished?_

 _Not this time, laddie. Either kiss the girl or I'll scream out how ye feel mentally and maybe verbally. She knows abou' me. She knows abou' yer joinin' the Key. An' she doesn't care a lick. Grow a lot o things, a pair an' a spine being the top o' tha' list, and tell her. Or are ye just gunnae let her ge' away?_

 _I really hate it when you become the logical one in our conversations. You get me into so many avoidable situations._

 _An' I stop em from happenin' a secon' time! But neither of ye can see what everyone else, meself included, has been watchin' this whole time! An' she's the Watcher!_

 _Later. We'll talk about this later, Iselmyr. Eder's smirking at us._

 _At ye, lad._

 _I'm certain this one's for both of us._

"So, what's Iselmyr saying?"

"None of your business, Eder."

"Was it about Cera? Because from your expression, she was really irritating you."

"No comment. And no, I'm not calling her out so you can ask or talk to her!" He picks up the two new spellbooks he's going to pour over - who knows what the Engwithans knew for spells - and leaves the room before anyone including Iselmyr can make a comment.

Of course, right as he goes to turn the corridor corner, Cera reappears on the other side of it with bone dust on her - and they very nearly walk straight into each other. "Aloth! What's wrong? Are the books interesting?"

"What? Yes, very. Concelhaut had a spell he never published in here! And this other one, The Leaves of Essence…should be interesting to say the least. What happened to you?"

"Oh, this was from Concelhaut's skull. Uariki was horrified by him, used a gigantic hammer to smash the skull to dust. Thanked me for saving her from being an apprentice to that monster. She'll go back to her island and save it after finishing her spell."

He wipes at a dusty cobweb on her cheek, suddenly bothered by it for no apparent reason, and they both jump back when the door creaks - and Eder and Kana are both pulled back inside by a feathered hand each.

Cera's eyebrow rises into her bangs, and she mentally asks _What are they saying?_

 _Cera, you don't want to know. Trust me._

* * *

 **AN: Hey! Sorry about the wait on updates, but things are just a little hectic at the moment. As for the story itself, i'm skipping the part of the swamp - just because it doesn't really make sense to go tromping through a swamp when it's so easy to miss this bit of content anyway, as you don't really have much reason to go back to Stalwart after beating the Eyeless and all that. Anyway, things are moving right along - and yes, everything's going nuts watching Cera and Aloth like each other without admitting it to the other elf. Iselmyr included, which I personally find absolutely hysterical. More chapters coming soon - please be patient though, classes do take an hour and fifteen minutes each, so I don't have the entire week to write, as fun as that would honestly be. Going to start some new stories after I finish the ones I'm currently working on, btw - reviews would always be appreciated, for any story. Enjoy!**


	30. Chapter 29

They get to Defiance Bay the morning of the hearing, everybody fully expecting the Leaden Key to interfere or entirely interrupt the proceedings altogether. As the hours pass by though, it almost gets boring being so tensed up and waiting for something. Except Cera seems incredibly on edge, like she's either remembered something more about Thaos that worries her even more than they already are - he's fully responsible for thinking up and starting the Legacy, along with ensuring it continues, that kind of dedication alone is worrisome - or she's worried about how the hearing will end.

Even when they testify what they saw and uncovered, everything to do with the Leaden Key's activities and the consequences of those activities, nothing happens to alert them to the Key's presence in the room. But it's when the Animancer, a man Pallegina recognizes as one of the Republics' best minds, steps up and starts talking that Cera's eyes suddenly widen and track something across the room.

Barrasc suddenly stiffens, his voice takes on new inflections, and then he says "Sorry, your grace, but we will accept no judgement but our own." He starts to take out a wand, but then suddenly freezes mid-attack.

The guards rush forward and seize his arms, but one of them suddenly stiffens and starts drawing his own sword - he to freezes halfway through the motion, Cera's eyes firmly fixed on him.

 _He's here! Possessing person after person!_

She darts out the room after a moment, even as Duc Aevar tries to restore order in the now-chaotic room. They go to follow Cera when her voice suddenly screams into their heads, a million 'Twin Elms' banging around in their heads like she was attempting to brand the name into their minds.

They get outside the room, just in time to hear "Shall I end it for you?" and a familiar _thump_ that can only be Cera's body hitting the ground in another collapse. They round the corner, and find a man with long gray hair and two knives standing maybe a foot from Cera's unconscious form.

Aloth immediately casts Minoletta's Concussive Bolts, which knock him across the floor and well away from her.

"Very well, I'm already late. And like as not, she only pulled some useless bit of info from my mind."

The only thing that stops Aloth from running after Thaos with Ninaguath's Killing Bolt on his lips is Cera's sudden gasp of breath - that immediately draws his complete attention and has the spell dying from his mind for now. When he kneels beside her as she regains her breath, she focuses on him…and then starts speaking fluent Engwithan, too rapid to understand and clearly frantic and scared. "What? Cera, slow down, start over in Aedyran."

Her expression turns first to confusion, then to panic and she lunges for her fallen crossbow. Clumsy, fumbling movements trying to set the first arrow where she'd have it ready and aimed in a mere moment all but confirm Aloth's worst fear since meeting Maerwald - this isn't the Cera he knows. Iselmyr's nervous and unusually sympathetic voice brings that set of memories to the front of his mind when she asks _Ye remember Maerwald, right lad?_

"Gods…" He's at a loss of words at the moment, but slowly puts a hand on the crossbow that _still_ isn't nocked yet and points it towards the floor.

Sagani says "We should follow Thaos, he-!" She's cut off by another round of rapid Engwithan from Cera's past self, who still hasn't introduced herself yet, but they actually catch Thaos' name somewhere in the mix of rapid, scared-sounding Engwithan pouring from Cera's mouth.

Eder asks "Kana, hasn't Cera been teaching you Engwithan?"

"Yes, but learning a long dead language is hard at best - and Cera was 'at best' ever since Heritage Hill. And I can't translate or even make out most of what she's saying at this speed."

Not-Cera pauses and stares at each of them in turn, then around the room in confusion. She presses her hands to her ears, but it doesn't seem to drown out whatever she's hearing - likely the thoughts in the hearing, which almost immediately devolved into a near-riot when Thaos attempted to kill the Duc.

Pallegina looks to the admittedly loud room on the other side of the wall and says "We need to leave, one way or another."

Aloth kneels next to Cera and quietly says "I want to talk to Cera. If you can understand me, we need to leave here. Alright?"

She looks up at him, and he's immensely relieved when the look in those blue-green eyes turns to recognition - Cera's back then. "What happened? Where's Thaos?"

Aloth helps her to her feet, and asks "What's the last thing you remember?"

"In this life? I ran out here…saw Thaos. He said we've been hounding him for too long, mucking up their plans far too much. Asked…asked…'shall I end it for you?' Those were his exact words. And then…" She grips her head, stumbling forward and mumbling a line in Engwithan with her eyes squeezed shut.

Eder says "Twin Elms. You told us all something about Twin Elms."

"It was in his thoughts. He wasn't expecting me to be able to read them, I got that out of him before he clammed up." One of the guards hurries over, and Cera immediately says "I need you to do something for me. Go to Hadret House, tell them I sent you. Please. Tell Lady Webb, or tell whoever you meet to tell her, that he tried and failed to kill the Duc. And that we're off to Twin Elms to stop him. Those exact words."

The guard looks incredibly confused, but nods his head and doesn't question her.

* * *

They get out of Defiance Bay with enough ease; and then there's another attack on them, with Pallegina being another target now for saying there was a conspiracy against Animancy when there actually _was_ one - seems the Leaden Key doesn't like anybody on their trail, no matter how much of a chance they have at finding them.

Cera is at her patience's end at the moment, between whatever she saw in her vision that she clearly doesn't want to talk about and now _yet another_ attack by the Leaden Key, she's had enough for one day. In lieu of giving any kind of response, she has one of the other Leaden Key members suddenly stab the Wizard through the chest with his sword, shoots two more through the hearts, and then everyone else gets over their shocks and starts reacting.

Pallegina charges forward first, and then suddenly all the remaining enemies around her get knocked to the ground - another of Cera's abilities then. A rouge appears out of nowhere suddenly, having snuck up behind her, but this time she's more than ready for this trick - she sidesteps, whips out her knife and elongates it with her own powers, and then stabs the dwarven rouge through the heart with a knife that's mostly a physical knife but with a good inch of psychic power extended out into a very sharp tip.

When she pulls her knife out, the fight is all but over already - they must be really good at killing these people by now, after everything that's happened. And nobody is going to question why Cera would be on her last straw with the Leaden Key at least - she just passed out maybe two hours ago, was briefly overtaken by her previous life's identity, and more than likely has a splitting headache from the sheer panic that they could hear still going on in the Palace following the attempted murder of the Duc.

* * *

 **AN: Alright, next chapter! Yes, I kept Duc Aevar alive - both to keep the city from going completely feral like it did in the game and because Cera could reasonably keep it from happening. Plus, I just like messing with Thaos' plans. And as for Cera's Awakening getting worse, well, just wait. I've got a few scenes planned for it. Enjoy! More chapters are coming soon!**


	31. Chapter 30

The night after the whole mess in Defiance Bay, they set up camp with everyone visibly worried about Cera. Sagani keeps casting glances at the elven woman, Eder and Kana both keep making jokes that get no response, and even Pallegina's lightly tapping her face in a held-back slapping motion got no sound from her. And now…now she's just sitting on a nearby log and staring into the fire like either she's trying to read it or it holds the answers she so desperately needs.

Most everybody eventually dozes off, all except Aloth and Cera - Aloth absolutely refuses to even close his eyes longer than a blink before Cera lays down and goes to sleep. He looks up from Concelhaut's grimoire to see Cera staring into the fire rather blankly, the only sign of life in her being her slightly twitching lips and the rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathes.

 _Lad, even I'm getting' worried 'ere. Go talk to the lass._

 _I'd never have thought that, Iselmyr. Really._

The feeling he gets next can roughly be translated as a rough elbow jab from Iselmyr, except she's a part of his soul so he's not sure how that works out. The message is all too clear though, and one he didn't really need to get in the first place.

Cera doesn't even twitch when he sits down next to her saying "You of all of us should get some rest, Cera. We've got a long way to Twin Elms, after all."

She slowly blinks, and eventually says "Thank you…I will."

Aloth immediately knows it isn't Cera he's talking to - wrong inflections, too calm, halting speech, everything - and asks "Who are you?"

She looks at him for a minute, then finally says "My…name…is Aerea. Aerea ix Ensios."

She doesn't say anything else, and Aloth waits for a minute before asking "You knew Thaos?"

Her head snaps up to his, suddenly defensive and on edge. It seems there's suddenly a war going on between Aerea and Cera, and finally she sighs and says "Yes, I knew him. As much as anybody could know him, anyway. And I now know I was a fool in my lifetime. My current self and I, you call her Cera, we've been…talking. She's been desperate to know anything else about my time, any kind of weakness of Thaos' or any idea of what is even troubling her…us." Her expression says she at least has an idea of what that would be, but he doesn't want to ask - that alone might worsen Cera's condition. Aerea looks up at him, a small smile playing on her lips, and says "Should I tell you, or do you want to hear this from Cera herself? Because the one thing I knew and still know for certain is that Thaos never gives up and never leaves any survivors in his wake. Victims, yes. Never any survivors, none that he meant to die and they somehow survived. I know that well. And one thing I learned from him, whether he knew it or not, was to treasure the people you care about. Back in my life, I joined what I knew as a missionary order that was spreading word of gods across the land. We saw miracles performed, lives changed, and we were convinced that helping to spread word of these beings - who made flocks of birds dance through the air, made fires take shape into weapons and armor and a woman with a sword, and many other impossible things - was going to end the suffering that was rampant in the world at the time. And from what I know and what my current self has seen…that missionary order evolved into what you know of as the Leaden Key."

Aloth's stunned speechless, what are the chances?

Aerea puts her head in her hands, and then buries her face in them and starts crying - looks like Cera's back in charge. He puts an arm around her, and gets taken by surprise when she buries her face in his armor. He starts running his fingers through her hair, and finally she calms down enough that her sobs fade into hiccups. She looks up at him and quietly says "You must think I'm such a fool. And a weak idiot."

"No, never. Cera, listen to me. We'll stop this. All of it. We'll stop Thaos. We'll figure out how to save you. I promise."

"It's too late, I think. Ever since the palace, ever since I saw him in there…gods, he looked _exactly_ the same! Sounded the same, right down to the inflections in his voice and the accent! And ever since he…I don't know what he did, but he brought on another vision. A woman. Chained to a massive iron wheel. He was trying to get a confession out of her. Aerea, my past life, she wouldn't say who she was. She said a lot of things, how she joined what she knew as a missionary order to spread the word of the gods to the rest of the world, how Thaos was much the same and yet so different when you're on his side…how he'll use anyone and anything to get what he wants no matter the cost to anyone around him. But she wouldn't talk about the woman on the wheel. I felt a massive amount of shame and guilt and regret though." She looks away from him, either from her own shame at whatever her past life did or from something else altogether. Either way, its unsettling Aloth more and more. "Focusing on the present used to help. Drowned out the whispers for a time with other people's voices…but now, my present only seems to lead back to my past. Aerea's past."

Aloth can feel Iselmyr prodding at him, but he can already guess at what she wants. _Lad, she said to 'focus on the present' an' I'm thinkin' there's one way o' doin' tha'._

He doesn't reply, more focused on Cera than Iselmyr's comments - she does have a point though, much as he wishes she didn't, much as he wishes he could say he came up with this idea on his own. He cups her face, saying "Cera, look at me." When she's staring at him, looking desperate for any kind of distraction from her visions and the whispers, he takes a breath and says "When we first met, I was completely lost. No direction, no idea about where I'd go or what I'd do, nothing. I didn't even know how I'd get out of that scrape with the locals in Gilded Vale, not after Iselmyr pushed them over the edge with her lovely comment. Then you showed up out of nowhere, sent those drunk rowdies away with a look and a few words, and even brought Tenfrith back."

Cera chuckles slightly at the lighter tone at that last part, and says "Yeah, well, I could feel his fear like it was my own, it wasn't too hard to track him down. And I was nearly already at my wits end with things by then. I killed one of them before they knew I was there, the other was too shocked that his partner was dead to react in time. Tenfrith thanked me and ran off to town."

Gods, why is it the mere sound of her voice puts all thoughts out of his head? He can't remember most of what he was going to say after that part! "Cera, what I'm trying to say is…I've finally found my purpose. And it's not because of my father or Thaos, not because of any kind of 'guidance' they gave or direction they faced me. It's because of you. Because you never force anyone do something they don't want to, because you'd never hurt someone unless they were trying to hurt you first. Because I feel like I knew more about you after seven days in your company than I did of the Leaden Key after seven years as a member in the organization. And because…"

 _Don' stop now, lad! Get yerself together!_

Cera gently asks "Because?"

Gathering up every ounce of courage he has - with a generous helping of nervousness and some prodding by Iselmyr with the point that its far too late to back out now, just like telling her he used to be part of the Leaden Key - he quickly says "Because this." and kisses her.

When he pulls back after a far-too-short-moment, she's staring at him with wide eyes and a shocked expression. He's about to say something when she suddenly grabs him by the front of his armor and pulls - he honestly can't tell if she pulled him to her or vice versa, but suddenly her lips are on his for far longer than before. And then he's suddenly swamped by a tidal wave of emotions - likely Cera's emotions, as it feels like a storm that's likely to drown anyone in it.

When everything fades, the torrent of emotions between them first and foremost, Aloth finds his arms around Cera's body and her head resting on his shoulder. And he's seriously wondering if he should tell her or not that she's a really good kisser.

Cera's chuckle instantly reminds him of her ability to hear his thoughts whether either of them likes it or not, and her voice whispers _I'd say your pretty good, but I don't actually know. None of my parents' choices actually got close enough, I made sure of that._

He kisses her again, much longer than his but only maybe half as long as hers, and says "We'll fix everything. You, the souls Thaos stole, all of it."

Iselmyr's voice rattles around in his head, saying _I's about time, you two. An' I know the lass can hear me, lad._

Cera's chuckle devolves into a massive yawn, and Aloth says "You should rest, Cera. Like I said before."

Cera starts to protest, but its lost in another yawn so strong it brings tears to her eyes. After wiping her face, she finally nods and mumbles an agreement.

Aloth breathes out a sigh of relief, and puts a kiss on her forehead before making sure she lays down and at least closes her eyes. Before she falls asleep completely, Aloth suddenly remembers the weird dream he's been getting every so often ever since that second trip to Stalwart - Cera kissing him.

When he asks about it, her face flushes bright red and she mumbles "That…may have happened. If I was gonna die…well…" She doesn't say anything else, the glowing shade of red her face has turned telling more than enough. After a moment, she says "If you're going to ask when I started loving you, please don't. I couldn't really give a definite answer. 'After day one in Gilded Vale' will have to suffice."

"I'll have to say the same. For me, I can definitely say I started seeing you as more than just a companion when you didn't react at all to Iselmyr's presence. You accepted me for me, her and all. Something I thought was impossible."

"I can say almost exactly the same thing, you know. You knew about my powers and saw me for me anyway. You didn't see some freak, or someone looking to blackmail everyone around her. Which is what my suitors saw if they didn't see something to control and use. I'd pretty much given up hope of thinking anyone would stick around after learning of my powers, which is why I didn't talk about them much during my travels. Heck, I told you because you'd seen me use them so obviously and didn't freak out - you wanted to know more, most people wanted to run away in the other direction or turn me over to someone to be hung."

Instead of answering, Aloth sits down next to her and kisses her - the unspoken 'never' has to be heard seeing as Aloth imagines it came from the center of his mind.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry about the wait everyone - but its finally here! Aloth and Cera have FINALLY gotten together! Yeah, I know, I strung it out a while - but they've finally figured out the other elf has feeling for them! Finals are coming up soon, so I probably won't be able to update for a bit. Two weeks at the most. Soon as Winter break starts, I'm finishing up my current stories! Promise! Enjoy! More chapters coming soon!**


	32. Chapter 31

When they get close to Twin Elms, Cera spots an Adra arch in the middle of the woods. She stops dead, then darts over to it. "Sagani, can I see the figurine?"

The Nasitaaqi dwarf doesn't question it, just quickly gets it out and hands the now-glowing item over. Cera stares at it for a minute, then takes off running into the woods - Persoq must be close then. They chase after her for what feels like an hour, Kana lagging behind the most despite having the longest legs, and then find her staring dumbstruck at a group of Fangs of Galawain surrounding a white deer on the ground.

Kana wheezes "How is it…she can…run so fast?!"

Cera stares for a minute at the bleeding deer, then at the figurine who's light is flickering wildly, then says "Sagani, start talking to that dying deer." She heads towards the confused elves, saying "We don't want your kill, we just want to talk to it before it dies!"

Sagani starts talking as fast as she can while still being coherent, telling the deer about Persoq's family and all they've done. And its almost like the deer is fighting to stay alive to hear this, as maybe two seconds after Sagani finishes, it dies.

One of the Glanfathans steps forward, and says "Alright, time to move on, Estramor."

Sagani looks up in horror and fury, asking "Have you no respect? A great soul inhabited this body!"

"And now it's gone, what's left is our kill."

Cera tries to get between Sagani and the Glanfathans, as the argument is quickly escalating into bloodshed. "Sagani, listen to me. This isn't worth bloodshed. You came here to find Persoq, you found him. Completed your Tarnek-Illitsak. You had your ritual, now please, I'm begging you, let them have theirs."

Cera can practically feel Aerea shuffling around in her memories, looking for something, anything, that can stop this from ending in violence. Because this situation is one wrong word away from ending in blood.

Things are looking like they're diffusing, right up until they definitely aren't - Cera doesn't know how, she's too busy trying to keep Aerea from unleashing anything via their now-shared Cipher powers onto everyone including the two of them. But she definitely feels the tension of all the other minds ratchet up to off-the-charts levels. Aerea starts getting agitated all over again, taking up most of Cera's attention, but the raised, angry voices make their way through to the both of them. Aerea seizes on one of Cera's memories, the night the Caravan was attacked, and then suddenly everyone lives that night in the space of a few moments.

* * *

When Aloth shakes his head, Odema's shout of 'Get inside! RUN!' still bouncing around in his head, all the Glanfathans have run off and Cera is just now darting off into the trees - likely still in the grip of her own memories.

Eder says "That must'a been the night she survived the Biawac. Wait, where'd she go?"

Aloth says "I'll follow her." and runs off - managing to get out of sight before any of the others say anything. Somehow he catches up to Cera - she's incredibly fast for someone so willowy - and finds her standing still with her head in her hands. She jumps a foot in the air when Aloth puts a hand on her shoulder, then whips out with her crossbow aimed at him. She seems to recognize him after a moment, and quickly drops the weapon to her side - then starts trembling.

"Gods, something happened, didn't it? Aerea, she did something, then I thought I was back with Odema's caravan, and then…" She buries her face in her hands, taking in shuddering breaths.

Aloth slowly puts his arms around her, running his hand along her back to calm her down. "Cera, listen to me. It's fine, everything's fine. The Glanfathans left, nobody got hurt, all of it. Now, calm down for a minute."

She nods, taking in hiccupping breaths even as she does, and her shaking slowly calms down. After a small eternity, she whispers "Sorry…"

"No, Cera, listen. You stopped things from getting violent, that's nothing to be sorry about."

Her voice is steady, if filled with guilt and despair, when she says "I let my powers get out of control."

"No, Cera, you said Aerea did that. Used your memory of the attack on the caravan to stop blood from being spilled. That wasn't you, and seeing as it worked like it was supposed to its nothing to apologize for." Aloth can see she's not convinced in the slightest, and a minute later he realizes it's the exact kind of thing she's always worked to prevent. Instead of saying anything else, he kisses her for a moment - figuring that will get it through her head and all her mental defenses that she's put up over the years.

After another minute or so, Cera regretfully says "The others will likely be wondering where we are. And what's taking so long."

"Hm, I'm sure they have their suspicions. But I don't care much either right now." He cups her face in his hands, suddenly convinced there's something different about her he can't put a finger on. Not the now-constant exhaustion, that's not it. Her hair grew out some, now it nearly frames her lovely face instead of being cut short and choppy around her head - that's not it either though. She must be hearing his thoughts, as she blushes but doesn't make any move to pull away. That's when it hits him what's changed - back when he first met her in Gilded Vale, she was closed off and had her mental defenses up. Was wary of everyone in the village - and for good reason, seeing as they were hanging everyone in sight back then. Now though, at least for him and the others, she's opened up. Let them inside her labyrinth of a mind, let them in on her secrets she wanted kept buried - her family, for instance.

Tired laughter sounds in his head in Cera's voice, saying _The both of us and all our secrets. Our families. Iselmyr and my powers. Seems we're perfect for each other - we'd never trust anybody else with stuff like this._

Aloth has to grin a little, she's completely right and they both know it. She only told him about her Cipher powers because he saw her use them so openly and didn't overreact - he told her about Iselmyr because she'd understand instead of reacting how he figured most would react at Maerwald's situation.

The blush leaves Cera's face at the mental mention of Mearwald, reminding her of exactly what's waiting for her if she can't find Thaos. And he doesn't need to be a Cipher, or connected to her mind, to feel the dread pouring off her at the thought - one can practically see it, it's so strong.

As if the mere thought sparked the reaction, Cera suddenly lets out a sound that seems like its half a sob and half a breath - not crying, exactly, but close enough. The next thing Cera knows, she's pressed into Aloth's leather armor with her shoulders heaving and him saying everything will work out alright. She feels his fingers running through her hair, so very different from the hundreds of times the servants would twist and pull it up into ridiculously complicated and not-a-little painful updos every morning - one of the many things she was glad to leave behind in Aedyr. She finally manages to get her unexpected burst of emotions under control when Aloth starts rubbing his other hand in a circle into her back.

And then they hear Eder's voice calling "Aloth, Cera, you two had better not be getting busy out here! Save it for an inn, you two!"

Both their faces go bright red, and Aloth mutters "I'm going to hit with him a spell. Or possibly my entire grimoire."

"I'll help. Keep him still so he can't dodge you."

Aloth chuckles and presses his lips to her forehead for an instant before pulling back slightly and says "We should get back. Before he gets all of Twin Elms thinking we're mindless farmhands or some such."

"You don't know the half of it, Aloth. Remember that 'inn' we passed in Ondra's Gift?"

"Yeah…"

"Be glad you can't hear people's thoughts. Eder took one look at the place and figured it was a brothel. And some Cipher powers can't exactly shut off. Like hearing people's thoughts."

"So _that's_ why you insisted on going by the Vailian Trading Company. Now it makes a lot more sense."

"Yeah. Because I did not want to see, hear, or gods-forbid _live_ any of his thoughts or memories or those of anyone in there if I could at all prevent it. I was preventing it."

Aloth chuckles, saying "Lets continue this conversation on the road, shall we? Preferably in our heads, so Eder doesn't get any ideas."

"Done."

* * *

 **AN: Hey, everyone! Next chapter is up! Yeah, I figured Cera's past life might take advantage of her Cipher Powers to keep things from getting bloody if at all possible - the scene with Persoq seemed the best place to do so. The story's getting close to finished - but I'll have some light-hearted moments before the end, I promise! Along with some downright silly things - but they actually make sense, I swear! Enjoy! Please review! More chapters coming soon!**


	33. Chapter 32

When they finally get to Twin Elms, they find the only place they can go is in the Hearthsong district. Pallegina looks suddenly worried when she sees the building the Anemfatha usually stay in when they're in the district, and Cera immediately picks up on it. She murmurs "Your worried about the trade agreement…"

Pallegina starts, then gives a thin smile and says "I suppose you'd have caught on eventually. Yes, I am. You know I've been worried since the start, truthfully, but right now I'm more worried than ever. After the near-assassination of the Duc, and the riot in the city that followed, its all-too clear to me that the Dyrwoodans don't suffer what they don't like for long. They certainly didn't like that an Animancer apparently tried to kill their Duc, what would they do if the Republics try to undermine their trade?"

Cera shrugs, and says "People in Gilded Vale were trying to stop the Legacy by hanging anyone and everyone who had _anything_ to do with Eothas or was different. Eder was one of them by birth, and he was sure they were going to hang him next even though he helped the side that blew the guy up. Aloth and I were likely going to be hung sooner or later, for whatever reason they could come up with. All total, Dyrwoodans seem a hotheaded bunch. And you've got an idea to keep the Republics from a war."

Pallegina doesn't even look surprised anymore that Cera just _knows_ these things - it honestly makes things a lot simpler sometimes. Running ideas past her, for instance. Pallegina has an idea for an alternate trade agreement that won't undercut the trade between Eir Glanfath and the Dyrwood but will benefit the Republics - Cera immediately likes the idea.

She helps the Avian Godlike iron out the details, and they eventually come up with Ta Ondra Tara Pearls to the Glanfathans and Carrow Golan and Adra Ban to the Republics. Pallegina looks nervous, but she steels her resolve and nods her head resolutely.

And then they walk into the Anamenfath's council building - or whatever it's called, it seems the equivalent. Cera's picked up thoughts about a mysterious Estramoer who got permission to enter the forbidden districts and _did something_.

Has to be Thaos, he's the only Kith in all of Eora who could talk someone born in the Dyrwood into letting them into a forbidden area.

The only Kith besides Cera, that is.

Given her Cipher powers and her upbringing, she's got a knack for persuading people - one of the few things the two certainties of her early life help with very much. Most stuff, not so much - using her words to convince people to let her be or do what she wants, absolutely. If she _absolutely_ has to, she can even mentally influence them in the direction she desires, though she'd never do it unless she had to.

The Ananenfath initially denies their request to enter the other districts to search for Thaos, saying she'd already made that mistake once and wouldn't do it again - chances are, if she'd refused, he'd have simply killed everyone in the room and then everyone else that got in his way to wherever it is he's headed.

It's when Cera's look spaces out for a moment, that the Elven woman peers at her curiously. Cera suddenly says "Not to be rude or creepy, but do you know of a dead elf named Ferwult who had a warning that went unheeded?"

The Anamenfath actually drops the book she was holding, staring at Cera in pure shock. "How…how could you know that? Unless…you're a Watcher. A soul-seer. Yes, I know of Ferwult. His warning came in the Broken Stone war, and went unheeded. A warning of caution, one that is surely relevant now as well."

Cera tilts her head to the side, studying the young leader, and finally asks "You want to make up for the mistake of letting Thaos into the other district, don't you?"

"Whatever his name is. He never introduced himself, just said he was doing the work of the gods themselves and he must be let through to Elms Reach at once. How do you know him, and what do you want? Truly want."

"What I want is to find him and get an answer from him - how I know him is…complicated. Very complicated. You could say its driving me nuts trying to figure it out."

The Anamenfath opens her mouth to respond to what appears to be a joke, then something seems to dawn on her and she says "I'm sorry then. You're Awakened."

It's not a question, but a statement, and Cera nods. "Yes, and I need to find him so I can figure out how to stop this. And stop him. You've heard of the Legacy? Hollowborn children being born all across the Dyrwood? Well, he's the one that set it all up, started all this. And now, whatever he's doing, he's going to finish this. He serves Woedica, and he's going to use those souls for…something. I don't know what, but I know…" She spaces out for a minute, then quietly says "He's always got a plan. A reason. Woedica's plan and reason. She was the ruler of all the gods, until she was overthrown. I can't imagine he liked that too much. Or her." Cera suddenly sways, and Aloth catches her before she hits the floor.

The Anamenfath looks at Cera with wide eyes, and says "I take it that was her Awakened soul just now?" Cera nods, holding her head, and the woman thinks for a minute before saying "If you can stop the Estramoer, this Thaos as you call him, you have my permission to enter the other districts. Find him, stop him. Put an end to the devastation he's wreaked on the Dyrwood."

Pallegina says "Thank you, Anamenfath. Also, there is something I need to discuss with you. You have heard from the Valian Embassy that the Republics wish to open trade with Eir Glanfath?"

"Yes, I've heard that. And I heard that they would be sending an emissary to give more specific details on the proposal."

Pallegina nods, and says "Understand that I am more suited for war than for diplomacy, but I am here in service to the Ducs all the same. And in these times, they felt it best to send someone who can hold their own in a fight with the proposal details."

"I understand. Perhaps it is best to send a warrior to do emissary work in these troubled times. What is the offer?"

Pallegina bites her upper lip for the briefest of moments, then says "The Republics think that it would be best if you continued your traditional trade with the Dyrwood, and instead you would become our exclusive market for Ta Ondra Tara Pearls while the Republics became your exclusive market for Carrow Golan and Adra Ban."

"A most interesting offer. This past hour has been full of surprises. I'll send some emissaries to work out the details."

* * *

Once they get outside the building, Pallegina slides down to a sitting position with wide eyes. "That's it! My position with the Brotherhood, gone! Postenago!"

Cera slides down next to her, saying "You did the right thing, Pallegina. Even if they can't see it." She rubs at her temples, trying to clear her head of most of the Glanfathans going about their own business and unknowingly saying every thought in their heads in hers as well.

Eder's voice cuts through most of the concentration required for her to have even a few moments actually to herself, saying "You alright, Cera?"

"Define alright. Insane, not quite yet. I've got a headache though."

"I'm surprised that's _all_ you have, in all honesty. How's…how's your friend?"

"Quiet for now. Though her appearance earlier was rather sudden." She spaces out for a minute, but they can all tell it's still her when she refocuses.

Sagani says "Well, the woman did give us permission to follow Thaos. Let's go, shall we?"

They all nod, getting to their feet and heading in the right direction. The guards don't seem all that happy that they have permission, but don't make any trouble for them either. Which is good, because Aloth saw Cera's hand twitching for her crossbow - right up until he took it in his, resulting in his wand hand nearly getting crushed in her grip.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, getting right down to things here! Lord Raedric is just going to stay dead instead of rising from the grave, as a quick trip back to his keep seems more like a waste of time at the moment. In the game, it doesn't really have any consequences for stopping Thaos to take a few-days trip back to the other side of the Dyrwood to kill a guy again, but in real life it would honestly be something to be done after saving the world. Merry Christmas!**


	34. Chapter 33

Cera swims back to consciousness, her head feeling fuzzy and full of cloth - _heavy_ cloth. She tries to sit up, and feels a pair of hands support her by the shoulders into a sitting position. She hears a quiet "Come on, Cera. Open your eyes…" from beside her, and slowly cracks them open.

At first, everything's too bright and it hurts her head like a stiletto to her forehead to look at anything. After a minute, she tries again and is relieved to find it hurts less this time - and then feels whoever is next to her relax slightly, and the same voice as before say "Almost there, Cera. Come back to me, please." That'd be Aloth's voice, she'd recognize it no matter what. She lets herself lean into his chest, tucking her head under his chin.

 _How long was I out, Aloth?_

She lets herself get swamped by his relief, practically throwing herself into the emotion. "Not long, about an hour. You kept mumbling though, talking about a 'Vara' while you were out though. Does that mean anything to you?"

Cera only wishes it doesn't - the vision she had, Thaos asked her to trick a woman named Iovara Ix Ensios away from her refuge of Creitum and to a city known as Ossionus. Iovara…her sister.

The very thought sends guilt, regret, and shame welling up inside her until she feels like she could throw up from it all - if only it were that easy, if only she could rid herself of these feelings so easily. And the memories connected to them. "Did I dream the Delemgan?"

"Two tree-women? No, you didn't."

"Teir Evron?"

"Again, no."

"Our Awakenings….they're…."

"Permanent. Yes, not at all the answer either of us had hoped for. Which means…."

"You'll be stuck with Iselmyr forever. Aloth, I'm…" _Sorry. So incredibly sorry._

"I was going to say your only chance is for Thaos to cough up whatever answer it is you need. I wasn't thinking about Iselmyr at all. But, if you're asking, we came to an understanding. She's…quiet. We had a talk, after the Delemgan said there was no way back from an Awakening but a way forward. Ever since I was Awakened, I've spent my whole life hoping for someone else to undo it. My mother would bring home a miracle cure one day, or my father could send her away like he made her appear. Or someone in the Academy could cast a spell and she'd be gone - I'd even hoped that someone in the Leaden Key could make her disappear back to wherever it is she came from. And, well, I won't say I wasn't curious if a Watcher could maybe at least make her shut up. But…I've realized I have to solve my own problems. And, surprisingly enough, it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be to finally assert myself. Perhaps she was trying to get me to do that, but I have to say her methods were a little off if she was."

Cera sputters out a laugh, grateful that Aloth can read her well enough to know when she needs a distraction from her own problems. She looks around, finally realizing they're in the shadow of a large tree and sitting among various flowers - Pilgrim's Crown and Admeth's Wyrt, mostly.

Aloth slips a flower from the Pilgrim's Crown behind one of her ears, then helps her to her feet carefully. "The others went to the marketplace we saw earlier, hoping there would be something there that could keep this from happening."

Cera cracks a grin, saying "There'd be something! Whoever invented a potion or enchantment that could keep an Awakened Watcher from getting visions of their past life would be the richest person in the world."

Aloth's look doesn't lose any of its seriousness, even as he steadies her to keep her from stumbling as she takes a step. "Cera, you're getting worse. Rapidly, now. You didn't pass out this much before Thaos…triggered whatever memory he did back in the Ducal Palace."

Cera shrugs uncomfortably, shifting her weight from foot to foot for a minute and looking at the grass behind him. "Yeah, well, it's not like focusing on that fact will make it any better. Aerea, she…Eder and the others are coming."

Aloth bites back a sigh, they seem to have the worst timing. Or the best, if they were looking to interrupt the two elves. He doesn't dare think about how he might've gotten Cera talking about the vision she was seeing - all throughout this whole adventure, she's been mostly tight-lipped about what her past life was like. The night after Defiance Bay was a rare exception, all the revelations must've been too much to keep secret. He gets the sneaking suspicion she doesn't want him to worry about her - it's not working, its doing the exact opposite and worrying him far more.

Sure enough, all the others round the corner maybe ten seconds later and Eder says "Hey, she's awake! Cera, you still with us?"

"Yeah. I'm good for now. C'mon, we've got some gods to talk to."

* * *

They're in Teir Evron, and Cera's just inserted the crystal piece into the central altar. The floor goes black as the night sky, then lights up with thousands of stars. They see many different symbols on the floor, and Cera looks at them all in wonder. "That's Galawain's symbol, along with Magran and Aybydon. There's Hylea's over there. And Berath's…what?"

Eder asks "How's a noble know all this stuff? I get the whole fancy education and all, but…"

Cera shrugs, saying "I spent a lot of time in the library. And seeing as my parents didn't think much at all about me reading fictional stories after I was about the human equivalent of six or so, well, I found other things to read. One of them happened to be a book about the gods."

They all look at the floor, and Pallegina asks "Which of these gods can we trust? If Thaos is working for Woedica…"

Cera bites her lip, and says "And which of them would be inclined to helping us stop him…not Skaen, the god of vengeance and uprisings…chances are he'd support Woedica's return to power. Well, we're hunting Thaos, right? Why not go to the god of the hunt?"

It makes as much sense as _talking with the Gods themselves_ , so why not give it a try?

* * *

Aloth's looking around the inn in Twin Elms searching for Cera in the room - she's nowhere to be found. Eder, however, is sitting at the counter - as good a place to start searching for Cera as any. "You looking for Cera? I invited her over here for a drink or two, figured she could use anything to help with that haunted look on her face she's had ever since she had that last vision in front of the Delemgan. She ordered an Aedyran mead they serve, downed it fast, paid and left, and made her way through the crowd that way." Eder points straight to the crowd, but Aloth can make out the _doorway_ just over the tops of their heads.

"Thanks, Eder. Wait, what made you think her _drinking_ is a good idea? She's a Cipher, and a powerful one! That combined with her Awakened soul spells trouble if she gets drunk!"

"She only had the one. Some spiced honey wine or something. Said she tried it before leaving home and it wasn't that bad - and that it was the only alcoholic drink she'd actually drink, and only one at a time. She also told me something about not being able to drown herself out with everyone else, said it used to help with her thoughts. You making any sense of that?"

"Unfortunately, yes. She's a Cipher, Eder. Able to hear the thoughts of dozens of people at once, if she chooses or can't block them out. Bets are she was trying to hear so many thoughts from everyone else that she couldn't hear her own." He makes his way through the crowd, wishing he could navigate them like Cera can thanks to her Cipher abilities.

Sure enough, he finds her on the balcony - standing in the rain, looking like she's cold. He drapes his cloak around her shoulders from behind, which doesn't even get a twitch out of her. "What are you doing out here, Cera? We've got an animal standoff to break up tomorrow, remember? Sagani and Pallegina went to bed earlier, Kana is regaling people with songs from Rauatai, and Eder is still enjoying whatever it is he's ordering."

Cera's only response is a shrug, along with a sense of despair about her. He moves so he's right in front of her, gathering her into his arms. "Cera, what's wrong? You can tell me, you know that."

Cera shakes her head, whispering "You'll hate me…"

"No, never. Your literally the best thing that ever happened to me, Cera. I could _never_ hate you."

He studies her face, noticing how pale she still is - when the Delemgan sisters mentioned the pit they'll have to jump into with divine assistance so they don't die at the bottom, she went as pale as a Cean Gwyla and looked like she could have thrown up. And then, she passed out almost directly after the conversation ended.

And even now, she looks more like a ghost than a living person.

Her quiet, _exhausted_ voice cuts through his thoughts, saying "Go on inside, I'll stay out here for a while."

Aloth shakes his head, there's no way he's just going to leave her alone out here. Given the fact that they've been attacked by Leaden Key members more and more as they keep getting in the middle of their plans, the way she keeps having flashbacks of her past life, and a hundred other things that go through Aloth's head, there's no way he's going back inside unless Cera comes in with him.

Cera tenses up, her whole body twitching, and says "Aloth…"

Instead of saying anything, he kisses her. After they break, she presses her face into his armor while choking back a sob, saying "I don't deserve you…"

Aloth barely manages to bite back a protest, sure that Cera can hear it in his thoughts.

"I…I had a sister, way back when. Iovara. We…we joined the Missionary Order together. We got different assignments, promised we'd find each other after they were finished and trade stories of things the Gods' work accomplished. But…but I later heard she'd split from the order. Thaos…he asked me to find her, get her somewhere he could get to her. And I did, didn't I? I betrayed 'Vara, my only sister." She breaks down crying, mumbling lines in Engwithan incoherently.

Aloth runs his fingers through her hair, saying "Cera, listen to me. We'll figure this out. Whatever happened, I of all other people know how manipulative Thaos can be. He's got an entire organization running in near-absolute ignorance of what their true motives are. Whatever he made you do, it's not your fault. Not then, not now. Especially not now." He can feel the guilt she's feeling, guilt so strong she's practically made of it. "Cera, I'm not going to leave you alone tonight, alright? You need some rest, which you're not going to get out here."

"Maybe…maybe if you talk to me or something…"

Aloth gets an idea, and says "Well, I've got this spell in my Grimoire called 'Called to Slumber' - in battle, it puts them out for a few minutes. Of course, with you being so exhausted…it may put you out for a lot longer."

"You…you think that'll work?"

"It puts fully-rested, alert people trying rather hard to kill us out for a good five minutes during a fight, Cera. I'm certain it'll put one exhausted Watcher out for a while. Besides, if something happens I'll be right next to you. But nothing's going to happen other than you getting some much-needed rest."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Cera's sitting apprehensively on the edge of the bed and nervously watching Aloth flip through the pages of his Grimoire - it's one thing to watch him cast spells on their enemies, it's another entirely to have him cast one on her. Aerea whispering that the last guy she trusted so completely was Thaos doesn't help matters - a little tidbit she's _never_ sharing with anyone even if they're a Cipher digging through her mind.

"Alright, here it is. Ready?" He shows her the page, full of diagrams of a moon and things she can't make heads or tails of - she's never tried to cast a spell before! - and puts a hand on her shoulder to lay her down on the pillow. Upon realizing how nervous she is, Aloth kisses her and says "You'll just close your eyes, Cera. That's all, I promise."

Cera shakily nods, and lays her head on the pillow. And the last thing she remembers hearing as Aloth's voice saying some incantation from his book.

* * *

 **AN: Hey, everybody! Next chapter is up! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I'll be posting more chapters soon - wrapping things up, stopping Thaos, all of it! To answer any questions about Aerea - Cera's past life - such as why she can speak Aedyran and all that...she and Cera are sharing not only a body but also Cera's Cipher powers. So, that in combination with Cera's own knowledge of the language means she picked it up fairly quickly for learning a language that didn't exist way back when she was alive. And, incidentally, she wants to stop Thaos just as much as everyone else. in the end of the game - spoiler, if you haven't finished yet stop reading here! - a vision shows that the character's past life started doubting everything - Thaos' teachings, what Iovara had said, all of it - and they went to question Thaos in Sun in Shadow. Well, Aerea remembers all that, and knowing what they all know now she's feeling pretty guilty. Enjoy!**


	35. Chapter 34

Aloth wakes up to find his arm is around Cera's waist and her back pressed against his chest - and then everything that happened yesterday comes back to him. What really catches his eye, though, is Cera's expression - completely calm, like she doesn't have a care in the world.

Most of the time, she's either on guard against the minds of the dozens of strangers in whatever town or city they're in, or they're fighting for their lives - this peaceful, serene look is rare, it's the first time he's actually seen her like this. _So lovely when she's like this._

Cera shifts a little, moving just enough that her head is in a new spot on the pillow. After a few more moments, he clues in to the fact that she's awake now when she moves just a little closer to him. Aloth can't fight a grin forming on his lips for a moment or two, then presses his mouth to her neck and is rewarded with a gasp from her.

Cera squirms on the bed until she's facing him, and jokingly asks "Is that your way of saying it's time to wake up?"

"It could be. Seeing as you're the one of us that can connect our minds."

Cera curls up until her head is tucked under his chin, saying "But I like it here. It's warm, comfortable, I don't particularly feel like I'm going crazy at the moment…" _Dammit, time to get up now. Eder's just starting to wonder where we are._

 _Let's not let him find us here just yet. Not until after we stop Thaos._

Aloth's just finished getting into his armor when Eder starts knocking - pounding really, with those big hands of his - on the door. "Hey, Aloth, you in here?"

"Yes, Eder, why wouldn't I be in my room?"

Cera's voice whispers _I'll go change. You keep him occupied._

 _Done._ Because there's no way Aloth's letting Eder get any ideas in his head - the ones he talks about are bad enough, Cera refuses to go into detail about the ones he doesn't talk about.

"Well, Cera's not downstairs, Pallegina and Sagani haven't seen her yet, I was kinda hoping you'd have any ideas on where our psychic Watcher friend might'a wandered off to."

Aloth rolls his eyes, and says "I found her on the balcony last night, Eder. You might try there."

"Right, I'll try that. Say, Aloth, you _positive_ Iselmyr's not gonna come back out again? Because-"

"Yes, I'm sure Iselmyr isn't going to make another appearance. And no, I'm _definitely_ not going to call her out and risk undoing yesterday just to get a laugh out of you, Eder. Or to make Kana fluent in Hylspeak either."

"Oh, c'mon! Not even for a few minutes?"

"No. Weren't you going to go look for Cera?"

"Yeah, c'mon. She's got to be around here somewhere."

Cera's voice whispers into his mind _I'll find you guys down there. Don't worry, I'm in no danger of getting lost in an inn, Aloth. Promise._

Sure enough, Cera finds the two in the common room about ten minutes later - with Pallegina and Sagani in tow, to boot. "You guys ready? We still have to find Kana, though. Then, it's off to the Maw to break up a standoff." She looks and sounds alert, Aloth's starting to consider using that spell on her again tonight.

Eder says "Your looking better, Cera. Either that Mead you had helped quite a lot, or-"

"Morning! Is everybody ready to depart?"

Kana's interruption comes at the best possible time, and Cera brightly says "There, all accounted for! Let's go get some animals to fight each other."

Sagani says "You're in a good mood, especially since we learned we have to jump into a massive pit to find Thaos. And to not die at the bottom of that pit, we have to break up an animal standoff that may well end up getting us killed. So, why are you in such a good mood?"

"Because I had a good night's sleep last night. Don't remember a thing after I closed my eyes until I woke up."

Pallegina says "Fair enough, Amica. Let's be off then."

* * *

Cera's jaw drops open when she sees two Stelegar cubs wrestling with each other behind their mother - no wonder she won't go out and face the big bear. She's staying to nurse her cubs! And the Bear and its partner don't want to come in and fight - resulting in the never-ending standoff they've been sent to end.

"This isn't going to end well for anyone. Two cubs might lose their mother, and no matter what we do we're going to tick someone off. And we may well displease a god as well."

Sagani says "Normally, a hunter goes to find their prey. I know both of these creatures are first-class hunters, but a new hunter going into established territory doesn't have any advantages - they have to make them, and make do without in the meantime. That's how it works out in Nasitaaq, anyway."

Cera hesitantly asks "So…we should get the bear in here?"

"I'm no expert in what Galawain would like, but I'm thinking he's pretty satisfied with how hunting and such has turned out. Why not follow the pattern?"

"Good as anything else I can think of. Anybody got any objections?" Nobody does, and Cera quietly says "Everybody's going to want to stay back. Including the cubs."

Maybe a minute later, after everyone is at the far side of the area and the cubs are safely out of the way, the huge bear that's challenging the stelegar-mother comes dashing in.

Cera mumbles "And…here we go."

After a long, bloody battle, the Stelegar wins, and starts tearing into the bear carcass and eating it - the cubs, after a moment, follow suit.

Cera quietly says "Well, battle's over. And the vicious, clawed family over there will have plenty of food for a while. Let's hope Galawain isn't mad about the outcome." Because all she did was get the fight going, then pull away and watch as it unfolded.

They manage to get Galawain's blessing, and then it's off to Burial Isle - and the thought crosses everyone's mind that they're going there to bury themselves.

* * *

When they get to the island, Cera's jaw drops for no apparent reason.

Eder asks "Trying to catch flies, Cera?"

"Souls, maybe. There's dozens of them, maybe hundreds!"

They can't see anything, right up until Cera starts almost _buzzing_ with some kind of power - the souls Galawain granted her.

Unfortunately, as they make their way through the island, Cera continually stops in her tracks - an expression of pure horror growing stronger on her face each time she does. Aloth takes her hand after a minute, pulling her along - entirely uncaring about Eder's smirk and comment of "Are you two ever going to get a move on?"

 _Come on, Cera. Almost there._

Sagani watches as Aloth pulls Cera past the farmhand, and whispers "Something tells me this particular comment is a little late, Eder."

Eder's smirk widens, and he snorts a laugh out and says "'Bout time."

Aloth pulls Cera into a shaded spot, out of sight of the others - Eder's been taking glances at them for the past ten minutes, and especially whenever Aloth has to gently pull at Cera's wrist to keep her walking. They've been going all over the island, collecting souls so that they won't die upon reaching the bottom of the pit they have to jump into, and Cera's been getting paler and paler as the day wears on.

Cera mumbles "At least the Delemgan said Sun in Shadow was pretty far away from Teir Evron - we aren't too far behind Thaos then."

Aloth rests her head on his shoulder, whispering "We'll find him, Cera. We're almost there. You said we've got all the souls we've found so far?"

"So far. There's probably some at the pit though." She sounds like a completely different person from this morning, haunted now where before she was almost carefree.

Cera presses her hands to her ears, trying to block out the whispers that only she can hear - the screams now, agonized screams of victims burning and being tortured. They sort of fade into the background in her mind, though, when she feels Aloth's hands take her own as he whispers "Let me help, Cera."

"You can't. Nobody can. Nothing helps anymore. They follow me no matter what I try. Telling me what they're feeling. How it's my fault they're in so much pain…"

Aloth makes her look at him, alarmed beyond anything he ever even thought possible. "Cera. It's in the past. These memories aren't feeling anything now. It's just like with Maerwald, they're stuck in whatever moment your remembering. The soldier's mother, from when he was a child. The painted elf, planning an attack. Cera, listen to me. We're so close. You just need to hold on a little longer."

"I swear I can feel myself going insane. Every time I see someone on a torture rack, or tied to a pyre about to be lit…" She squeezes her eyes shut, burying her face in his shoulder.

Aloth gets an idea, and says "Then don't look. I'll guide you."

That gets a confused look from her, and she asks "…What?"

"Keep your eyes closed. Or tie a blindfold over them. I'll guide you. Or you can merge minds with me."

"No! That could have you hearing what I'm hearing, I don't-"

Aloth stops her frantic objection by putting a finger to her lips, saying "Cera, listen to me. If I hear what your hearing, then so be it. Maybe sharing the burden might ease it a little. But listen to me, I'll do everything I can to keep you with me, got it? Safe, sane, alive, all of the above. But you have to let me help, please."

After a moment, one where Cera bites down hard on her bottom lip and fights with herself hard, she finally nods her head and whispers "If it gets too much, tell me."

"Cera, you've been dealing with this far longer than a few minutes."

"It's gotten worse since Defiance Bay. Louder. That's different." She looks at the necklace he gave her in Defiance Bay so long ago, which he now realizes she's never without anymore - how didn't he notice that? He's not sure, but the realization makes him even more determined to find Thaos and get some answers out of the old man. And take back all the souls he stole.

Cera digs a piece of fabric out of her bag, and he ties it around her face so it covers her eyes. "Ready?"

She swallows, and says "No. But I wasn't ready to be Awakened and made a Watcher either. I wasn't ready for any of this."

She presses her forehead to his, and Aloth can almost feel their minds mixing - what they feel, what they're thinking, everything. So neither of them are entirely sure who mentally says _Let's go._

* * *

 **AN: Hey, everyone! Yeah, we're getting right down to the end here! Kind of silly with the blindfold - but, considering this is supposed to be the point where the Watcher's sanity starts really slipping, I figured I'd put it in. Besides, I think its cute. Anyway, more chapters are coming soon! Happy New Year! Please review, they're always welcome on any story...hate to add this in, but if your criticizing, try to make it constructive instead of 'this sucks' as I've gotten some of those and they really aren't helpful. If you don't like the story, just don't read it then! Anyway - sorry about that, everyone else! - enjoy!**


	36. Chapter 35

Cera can feel all four of their companions' reactions to seeing her with a blindfold over her eyes, and says "Trying to keep my sanity intact for a little longer. Can't see any ghost-people if I can't see anything."

After a moment, Sagani says "Fair enough. Let's go then." Aloth's leading Cera along, still slightly amazed that she agreed to this - or maybe that's her amazed that she agreed to this. Or maybe both, that's a possibility to. Either way, she's holding onto his hand and following him blindly, trusting him to lead the way.

The others take care of a few shades that cross their path, not at all hard by now, and soon they get to what must be the right place - there's a giant statue of an old woman with a shattered crown, warts on her face, and a very sour expression chiseled into her face. When he focuses, Aloth can actually make out a faint glow in several areas - a result of Cera's mind merging with his, he's seeing souls, though barely. "Cera, you can take the blindfold off now. We're here. At the pit."

She does, taking a few steps forward until the souls merge with her body. Then, she suddenly freezes and starts at a spot in front of the pit in absolute horror.

Aloth quietly says "No, not now, Cera…"

She suddenly spits out a horrified line in Engwithan, and Kana says "I recognized one word in there, the one meaning 'sister' - oh dear…"

Aloth immediately panics and says "Kana, pick her up!"

Cera starts running _towards the pit_ , yelling something in the tone of 'no, stop!' and Kana immediately runs up and slings Cera over his broad shoulder. She can't reach her crossbow, so she starts pounding on Kana's back while yelling in Engwithan - they catch the word ''Vara' several times, especially when she twists around so she can look back at the empty space around the pit and starts yelling something in that direction frantically.

Aloth can feel the weight of whatever it is Cera's seeing pressing against his own mind - taking a risk, he decides to see it to. It'll be just like when he saw one of Cera's far more recent memories, so what's the worst that can happen? Turns out she's seeing Iovara's trial, where Thaos tried to get a confession out of the woman and failed completely. _And now Cera's trying to stop it, save her long-dead sister…_

He pulls out of the vision, Iovara's words of 'I'm ready…to hear one…from you…' still ringing in his mind, and finds Cera's eyes are closed and she's gone still except for breathing like she's winded. _Cera, it's over. Wake up now, please._

Kana asks "Is she alright? If she starts running to the pit again…"

Aloth cups Cera's face in his hands when she opens her eyes, making her look at him. After a minute, she swallows and tries to steady her voice while asking "Does somebody want to explain why Kana's got me slung over his shoulder like a sack of grain?"

Everybody lets out a sigh of relief, and Eder asks "You don't remember? You running towards one big hole in the ground?"

"Not that, I wish I remembered that. Let's go, we've got to jump in anyway."

 _Cera, what set the vision off?_

 _This place. That horrible statue. I swear, I can still smell the sweat and blood._

She walks up to the edge and looks down - there's no way to know how far down it really goes. "Well, I guess we take a running start?"

* * *

When everybody dusts themselves off, all of them somehow still alive - the fact is pretty hard to wrap their heads around, despite the divine assistance. Everybody looks around, Eder sneezing at the sheer amount of dust they churned up by landing. Sagani says "Well, no way back. Let's go finish this. Once and for all."

Everybody nods, Cera making a ball of purple fire in her hand to light the way - spookily, the fire casts everything in an eerie light and throws jagged shadows along the walls. Eder jokingly asks "Why didn't you do this before? We coulda told ghost stories at night! I bet you have the most realistic ghost stories ever, you know."

Kana actually snorts out a laugh, and Cera quietly says "Very funny, Eder. After everything's done, I'll tell the scariest ghost story ever. Maybe connect our minds so you can see it."

Kana says "With your powers, I'm sure you've got plenty to show us!"

One corner of Cera's mouth twitches upwards, but she doesn't laugh. Aloth figures that you aren't really in good spirits when you've just watched your long-dead sister be viciously tortured. He can guess those thoughts are spinning around Cera's head like a whirlwind with no escape, and he knows from personal experience - his own thoughts and Iselmyr both - that it's not very fun to have memories like those coming around again and again. The only difference is the thoughts going around Cera's head are driving her insane.

Eder nudges Aloth in the side, nodding his head at Cera's back and quietly asking "You think she'll hold up long enough? A few nights ago, I woke up to her doing pretty bad. Nearly punched her to snap her out of it, no offense there. Shaking hard enough I thought she was gonna crack something, her spine maybe. Eyes rolled back in her head, everything. I know she was in a great mood this morning, but…"

Aloth quietly answers "But she watched her sister be tortured less than twenty minutes ago. That tends to put a damper on a person's mood."

"She was…she was close with the woman then?"

"From what Cera's told me, yes. They joined a missionary order to spread word of the Gods across Eroa, which turns out to be the early Leaden Key."

Eder whistles, and says "Wow. Didn't see that coming."

"Neither did Cera. They got split up, different assignments. And then Iovara split with the order, why isn't clear though. Something about a false faith. I'm guessing she led the group that got sentenced down here so long ago."

"You mean because Cera went whiter than a Cean Gwyla at the mention? Good hint, that."

Aloth sighs and shakes his head, saying "Eder, whatever it is that's troubling Cera, only Thaos knows it. And from what Lady Webb told us, he's the toughest nut there is to crack."

"She got the thought of Twin Elms out of his head!"

"And then he clammed up again." They watch as Cera turns a corner, and Aloth quietly says "Eder, this conversation is getting us nowhere. We find Thaos, we stop him, we fulfill our agreement with Galawain. And then we figure out how to get out of this place."

 _What are you guys talking about?_ Cera's voice sounds in both their heads, despite the fact that she's around the corner. _Because this place echoes, and I could hear your voices going back and forth._

Eder smirks at Aloth, and thinks _I'm thinking we should throw a party at Caed Nua after all this is over. After all, something like stopping Thaos and saving your sanity calls for a celebration._

They can feel a dim flicker of amusement from Cera, and she responds _We'll talk afterwards._

Cera's voice doesn't usually sound so quiet in their heads - it's always a whisper, sure, but it doesn't usually sound so…small. It's exactly like in the Sanitarium that second time, when she learned what Caedman Azo was doing in his experiments.

Kana asks, maybe to break the near-oppressive silence, "What is this place anyway? A mystery that was quite literally thrown down the world's deepest hole to be forgotten."

Cera's voice drifts over, saying "It's a prison. One for the soul. They're telling me so, the souls Galawain granted us. They were locked in here for heretical beliefs, or what was branded as heretical, and only repenting and pledging themselves to a god's service would free them. They all did so, but they're saying one did not."

Kana's look turns immediately to curiosity, and he asks "Are they saying who didn't repent?"

She shakes her head, saying "No, but I have an idea. And I dearly hope it's wrong."

They find a glowing pillar of Adra, and Cera focuses on one of the hollows with a horrified expression - and then, like a ghost fading _into_ existence instead of out, they see the form of a relatively young-looking elven woman with straight, dark hair appear in front of the pillar.

Aloth instantly recognizes her from Cera's last vision…Iovara Ix Ensios, Cera's long-dead sister.

The two sisters eventually get into a long talk in a mixture of Engwithan and Aedyran, but from what the others can tell…Aerea's apologizing for what happened so long ago. Talking in slightly-halting Aedyran and fluid Engwithan while tears roll down Cera's cheeks.

Finally, they stop and Iovara says "Thaos has been through here many times. He's been sending souls through here, by the hundreds, maybe thousands. I don't know what his plans are, but I know they certainly involve Woedica somehow - they always do, she's his queen."

Kana can't contain his curiosity anymore, and asks "Why are you trapped down here? All the other souls we've found in this place were up above, but…"

Iovara smiles sadly, and says "Because I refuse to repent my actions. Because my trial was my one moment of certainty. Because Thaos scared and manipulated my sister into tricking me. Because I learned and tried to tell the world that the gods aren't true gods…they're something else, something made by the Engwithans."

The stunned silence is so thick you could possibly cut through it with a knife.

Kana finally asks "…What? How…?"

Cera, or Aerea, quietly says "The Engwithans tried to discover who or what created Eora, tired of the constant wars between groups who worshipped different gods and deities. Apparently, the answer they found was nothing - there weren't any gods, or they were long gone if there ever were."

Iovara nods, and says "You remember then, Aerea. The Engwithan priests meant it to be a secret that died with them, but they got careless. They talked about it, and the floors were stone, the doors thin wood. Their voices echoed clearly, and I heard enough to start looking for answers. Everything was there, like they'd said. From what I could tell, Engwithan society had mastered manipulation of the soul in their search for the creators of this world, so they filled the void they found with gods of their own. I don't know how many sacrificed themselves to create the gods, but I believe that's the main reason the society disappeared. I broke with the order at that point, started exposing them publicly. Revealing their parlor tricks. Soon, I gathered a following of my own. We were apparently a threat to Thaos and his plans, so he sent Inquisitors after me. None of them succeeded…until he sent my sister. Had her advise me to go to Ossionus. On threat of a fate worse than death, apparently. Both before going to me…and after my trial. When she finally confronted him about everything, well, I never saw her again until now."

Cera, or Aerea maybe, mumbles "He said the Inquisition wouldn't stop. Not until every dissident was captured and made to repent. And I'd long since learned that he'd sacrifice anyone and everyone around him to make his goals happen. Just like now, he's going to sacrifice a generation of people to complete this plan."

Iovara's look turns even more serious, and she says "You have to stop him. Stop him for good. You say Galawain, Magran, and Abydon told you his plans to empower Woedica, and that she was overthrown by the other gods. I can't imagine either of them were very happy about that, and an infusion of souls as big as what has passed through here would make her unstoppable…even if all the other gods joined forces to do so. She's always been spiteful, willing to ignore every rule in order to get what she wants. Thaos is the same, it's why they've worked so well together."

Aloth mutters "And why he likely didn't even think twice about steeling hundreds of souls from people's unborn kids."

"Exactly. And that's why they're so dangerous. Why you must stop this now, before there's no stopping Woedica ever again."

* * *

 **AN: Alright, the final fight with Thaos is up next! I can't believe I didn't get this completed by the time Winter Break ended! Only a little more to go, but I'm starting classes on Monday! With Organic Chemistry! So, my sincerest apologies if my update time is longer - I've heard Orgo Chem is homework-heavy. And study-heavy. Lucky me, not math-heavy though, from what I've heard. Anyway, enjoy! After this story is finished, I'll start posting my Winx Club X HTTYD story! Please review if you've got suggestions!**


	37. Chapter 36

There's a somber silence hanging over the group after Iovara fades back into her soul-prison, leaving everyone with their own thoughts to process.

The gods are a massive lie, one made thousands of years ago - that one's pretty much the biggest one crossing everybody's mind, Eder's mind especially. Because he learned that he basically had a hand in blowing up a few hundred souls a few years ago. He's wondering how this knowledge would've changed things in Readceras, whether or not they'd have followed Waidwen and gone to war, and Aloth's determined that Thaos should be stopped and nobody ever take his place. Kana's going to go back to Rauatai and warn them off of going to war against the world and following the Engwithan's path. Sagani completed her task, finding Persoq, and wants to head back home to Nasitaaq and her family. And Pallegina has to face the Ducs' wrath for making up new trade agreement terms in defiance of her orders. And Cera? She doesn't really know what to think or do after Thaos is gone - go back to Caed Nua, for sure. After that? Not a clue.

They get into a massive city, and the souls Cera was granted by Galawain light the torches and wash away the darkness - revealing an Engwithan city to put all other ruins to shame. Everyone's impressed beyond words, the place is perfectly maintained…if filled with a million cobwebs and centuries-worth of dust.

They quietly walk through it, finding millions of people turned to ash exactly like in Cliaban Rilag - looks like what Cera witnessed in Cilant Lis has happened long before now. Just on a scale the likes of which they can't even fathom. Everyone is getting more and more creeped out as they make their way through the city, past dozens of ashen bodies - the only thing missing is the ghosts of those bodies, except they were likely turned into the gods.

When they get to the back of the city, they find there's an Engwithan Machine that puts all the others they've seen to utter shame. Like pebbles to a gem.

It's massive, and got a gigantic pillar of living Adra rising up from the ground in the center of it. Cera can sense the souls inside, a gigantic mass of soul energy that's impossible to pick one individual soul out from.

Aloth watches as Cera goes completely still, staring at a spot in front of the giant machine blankly. She blinks, and then quietly says "This is it. The place from my dreams, the place where it all fell apart completely. It's where Thaos goes to pray to Woedica, where he's sure she'll hear him. And nobody else will."

Eder whistles, and says "Half the Dyrwood's souls are probably in there. So, uh, how do we get them out?"

A new voice coldly says "You don't. I do." They all turn around to see Thaos standing there, a knife in each hand.

He starts _interrogating_ everyone, of all things. Like he's got any right to question their motives when he admits to having destroyed cities, left civilizations for dead by disease and ruin, and plunged a country into despair by stealing their children before they were even born.

The fight to end all this starts, with Eder casually saying "How 'bout we skip to the part where we just kill you, seeing as we've got plans after this and all." Cera actually snickers at that, despite the stakes, and Thaos glares at him.

In the middle of the battle, the two giant statues on either side of the walkway suddenly come to life, and Sagani just manages to get out of the way of one before it crushes her. Cera stares for a split second, and then narrows her eyes in concentration - one of the two figures starts dissolving away, much to Thaos' horror. "What? No! That's impossible!"

Cera mutters "Yeah, yeah. So's getting an honest answer out of you. Or anything other than lies and trickery."

They finally kill him, Cera landing an arrow to his chest just as Aloth casts Ninaguath's Killing Bolt on him. They gather around Thaos' body, and Cera focuses on where she can feel his soul - having just been slain, he's disoriented and weak. Which means Cera can find what she's looking for.

After a long moment, she says "It's true. All of it. The gods were people once, a very long time ago. And Thaos is the one that turned the machine on, all that time ago. How he wasn't taken with, I don't know. But he's the one that actually created the gods everybody worships."

For such a reality shattering revelation, she looks peaceful about the fact - a lot more peaceful than she has while awake since Defiance Bay.

Kana whistles, and says "That's quite the achievement. And he's spent all his lives ever since making sure that secret is never discovered."

Eder says "And now he's failed. By his own doing, to. How fitting."

Sagani asks "What now? Cera, you said you can manipulate souls, to a degree, anyway. You set the dwarven souls in Durgan's Battery free…so, what about now? What do we do with a guy that's done as much as Thaos has?"

Everyone goes still, that's a tough one. After a minute, Cera says "I give my sister a neighbor. He'll never cause any more harm ever again."

It's the smart thing to do, and everyone knows it. She could try to erase his memories, but risk the chance that they come back due to an Awakening or Woedica's intervention. She's not at all sure if she can destroy a soul, as she doesn't really practice her Watcher powers on people - maybe cause an Awakening, maybe break their soul into a million pieces - but she can confine him to a cell in here for eternity.

They swear they can hear Iovara's laughter echoing through the halls, trapped as she is in the Adra cell.

Then they all turn to look at the massive pillar of Adra that's glowing with millions of souls. Eder asks "So, you only get one shot at this? Or can you take your time with this?"

Cera bites her lip, and says "Not likely."

* * *

Aloth's standing at the entrance to the whole chamber, waiting impatiently with everyone else as Cera walks up to the giant machine. Pallegina clamps one hand on his shoulder, and says "She'll be fine, Amico. None of us need to be a Cipher to know what you're thinking right now."

He opens his mouth to answer, and then suddenly they all hear and _feel_ a massive concussive wave of force as Cera fulfills their bargain to Galawain. "Cera!" He can see her crumpled form lying in front of the now-dark Adra pillar, and runs over before anyone can stop him. She's still breathing when he gets to her, but shows no signs of waking any time soon when he shakes her shoulder a little.

* * *

Cera wakes up and the first thing she notices is the silence. Not of thoughts, they're still buzzing at her mind - the whispers she's been trying to ignore ever since waking up in Cilant Lis are _finally gone!_

At first, she savors the sweet silence, the lack of voices screaming in agony at her or begging her to stop - and then she takes a breath in and breathes in stale air and remembers that she can't lie around as much as she would like to and never again take for granted not going crazy.

She sits up, expecting and thoroughly pleased by the lack of a wave of dizziness, and sees Aloth sitting next to her. The look on his face when she first sits up is priceless, and she hears _I must be dreaming, Cera was sleeping so deeply we couldn't even tell if she was dreaming or not._

In response, Cera says "If this is a dream, it's definitely mine. Because I don't see anybody else around and I'm not hearing whispers anymore."

The next thing she knows, he's literally crushing her to his chest and saying he scared him far closer to the Wheel than that time in the Endless Paths and to never fall unconscious and sleep for that long ever again.

After a minute, about halfway through the whole speech, she thoroughly interrupts him by kissing him and saying "You were worried. I got that loud and clear, Aloth."

After a moment, he sighs in relief and says "You ever scare me like that ever again, I swear-"

She chuckles, and says "I plan on living the quiet life for a while, no need to worry there. There's Caed Nua to run, after all. And then the party Eder suggested."

"You heard that?"

"It was a stone corridor, how couldn't I hear it?"

Aloth swears his face is burning bright enough to rival a torch, and the burn doesn't really fade at Cera's chuckle.

"Relax, Aloth, I think it's a great idea! And besides," she sits down next to him and leans into his side, "we can see Kana's famous dance from Rauatai."

Aloth snorts, and says "Yes, the one kids apparently learn directly after learning to walk. Whatever you do, don't suggest that we dance it - I learned a few dances, but none from Rauatai."

Cera chuckles and says "Exactly the same with me. I was taught some formal dances while growing up, but I've never actually danced with anyone outside of those lessons and they were years ago. Though I did learn to play several instruments during my travels."

Aloth actually laughs for a moment at that, and asks "How?! According to you, you never stayed in one place long enough to learn _an_ instrument, much less several!"

"I traveled with some musicians for a few months, ones who were quite good at the art of getting music out of their instruments. And, well, I'm a Cipher. I can learn something just by being around someone who does it long enough."

Aloth gets a sly grin, and asks "So, say ye wanted to learn a few-" He claps a hand over his mouth, and Cera hears _Iselmyr, don't you dare finish that question._

 _I's a fair question, laddie! And we did pass tha' place in the city plenty o' times._

Cera goes bright red when she realizes _exactly_ what Iselmyr was asking about, and stammers "Well…yes…but I don't actually _have_ a reason to do that! I'm not just going to stand outside the Salty Mast for a few hours to pick up a few tricks!"

She swears she's lighting up the whole room, and Aloth says "Yes, and I'm not asking you to. Iselmyr, I swear…"

They're both still bright red when the others get back to the camp from wherever they were in the ruins - apparently, Kana decided it was a fantastic idea to go exploring, Eder went with him, and then they got lost so Sagani and Pallegina went to track them down.

Cera immediately says "So, about that party I heard Eder mention…"

Eder's face lights up, and he asks "Really? You're already good for it?"

"Well, we did just save the Dyrwood and stop Thaos for good. That deserves _some_ kind of celebration."

Kana looks excited, but says "I honestly thought you'd be a little harder to sway than this."

"I'm a lot more fun when not sleep-deprived and going crazy. Even in Gilded Vale, I was sleep-deprived."

Eder smirks hugely, and says "I didn't really take you for a party-type, Cera. You know, what with your parents and all…"

Cera shrugs, and says "Well, maybe when I'm not forced to play the part of a polite noble-girl in a ridiculous dress pretending I can't hear a bunch of complete strangers' thoughts, it'll be more fun. Especially considering most of their thoughts were about me and how to get my father to marry me off to their heir. Or, with said heirs, how they'd like to get me into bed. And I always had to hope nobody picked up on my utter disgust."

Eder and Kana start giggling, Aloth's expression turns _horrified_ , Sagani's is sympathetic, and Pallegina says "The way of politics. Trying to get an edge, any way they can. One of the reasons I stick to _following_ orders instead of giving them."

* * *

 **AN: Alright, Thaos is dead! Yeah, I figured saving the Dyrwood from Thaos and a newly-empowered Woedica would call for a celebration - why not? I get people having responsibilities and all, but most of them don't really require them to head off immediately! And as for Caed Nua, it seems to run just fine while they're running all around the Dyrwood getting into ancient ruins and all. Quick update on, well, updates: my schedule's going to be really packed this semester, full of homework and lab-writing. I'm going to have to postpone starting to post my next story until after something is finished - hopefully a lab, as they do tend to take a while and come with a lot of writing. Sorry! Anyway, only two more chapters after this one and it's done! They're going to be mostly fluffy stuff, since Cera's no longer going insane and there's no world-ending crisis to avert. Anyway, enjoy! I'll do my best to get the rest of the story posted!**


	38. Chapter 37

Eder is simply amazed at the fact that Caed Nua actually had stuff for a party - Maerwald didn't really seem like much of a partier. But, according to the Steward, he threw a few parties in his time as Master of the place and the stuff was never thrown out.

So now, there's a table full of stuff to eat - the long, feast table that can sit twenty people on each side easily - and games and challenges such as target practice and a treasure hunt in the Hedge Maze.

Cera talked everyone into staying for the party, saying they could postpone their next goals long enough for a few hours at least to celebrate the fact that they saved the Dyrwood and stopped a guy who's been manipulating history for centuries if not millennia. They all agreed - and Pallegina actually seemed relieved for the excuse to put off talking to the Ducs Bels in the Republics.

He sees Aloth watching Cera and Sagani shoot targets and hit dead-center each time - at this rate, it'll be a draw between the two of them - and goes over to him as he's turning something in his fingers. "You talking with Cera mentally, or trying to ask her to marry you?"

Aloth jumps, and gives him a glare, saying "No, I'm not. And no, I'm not going to ask her to marry me at the moment."

"So, what's with the ring?" He gets a startled look, and opens his hand to reveal that there is in fact a ring there - Eder's amazed, he was just messing with him! "Where did you get that?! The Engwithan Ruins? Because that looks a lot fancier than Gilded Vale."

The Aedyran wizard frantically hisses "Would you keep your voice down?! I found it, and was going to ask Cera to read it. She's otherwise occupied however."

"So, why so nervous then? Seriously though, you could use that as a betrothal ring! And, really, you two _aren't_ together by now?"

Aloth lets out a long breath as he pinches the bridge of his nose, and says "We are, Eder. But that does not mean I want to simply rush into anything. We beat Thaos less than a week ago, that doesn't seem a little soon for things? Things other than a party celebrating the fact?"

"You've gotta be kidding, Aloth. You are a little too occupied with details like that."

"You learn spellcasting - or have to deal with an Awakened soul named Iselmyr for fifty years - and you learn to be a little more patient and focus on the details. How do you think I went through the Arcane Knights Academy without getting exposed as having an Awakened Soul? Or got through it at all?"

"Alright, fair enough. I'll get Cera over here for you."

Truth be told, Aloth's nervous about asking Cera about the ring because it could well be a betrothal ring. And he doesn't want to rush things - now that Thaos is gone and she's not going crazy from ancient memories that are tormenting her, they actually _can_ take their time. Thanks to Iselmyr, and his father, he's never gotten close to anyone before - so he has no intentions of screwing it up now.

"Hey, we called it a draw. Something wrong? Eder said you had something to ask me."

"Nothing important. How about we head inside to get something to drink, and I'll ask you there?"

She doesn't seem convinced by that, but says "Lead the way, Aloth."

Five minutes later, they're standing next to the table with a glass in each hand and Cera's expectant gaze on him. "So? What's your question?"

He pulls the ring out and says "I was curious about this, Cera. And I was wondering if you could read it for me, but you were occupied before, so Eder-"

She smiles at him and takes the ring from his palm before he can nervously talk any further. She turns it in her fingers a few times, then says "It belonged to a woman named Gwyn. She lived in Forked Vale, and was betrothed to a farmer. But she felt like a weight was pressing down on her worse and worse as the wedding drew near. Woke up with nightmares of suffocating each night. The morning of the wedding, she went for a walk to calm herself - and then, on Pearlwood Bluffs, she realized she had no intention of going back, as the further away she got, the better she felt. She went to Defiance Bay, went to the docks, and traded the ring for passage to Aedyr." She looks at the ring for a moment, then gets an idea and asks "Aloth, are you…asking to marry me?"

"Well, I…you see, Cera…"

"As if the answer wouldn't be yes?"

"The thing is…wait, what?"

"Aloth, all those stories I have of past suitors I drove off, high-born nobles in Aedyr…I never loved any of them! They only cared about getting an heir out of me, not who I am. They'd likely have left me in the middle of nowhere once they learned of my powers! Why, on Eora, would you think you'd even have to ask?"

Iselmyr's voice is what jolts him out of his stunned silence, saying _Lad, yer Watcher lass jus' said she'd marry ye. Say somethin, ye nitwit!_

Instead of saying anything, he kisses her.

 _Tha' works to._

When they pull apart, Cera whispers "How furious do you think my parents would get if we informed them of the wedding by sending them a letter? _After_ the fact?"

He grins, and says "About as furious as my father would. I'd like to tell my mother in person though. Preferably before we get married. No offense."

Cera chuckles, and says "None taken. How long do you think it would take for us to go visit your mother and be back? A month?"

"Possibly. We could probably get a ship to Aedyr from Defiance Bay. Are you sure you want to go back though? You're the Master of Caed Nua, after all. And you were set against returning with your parents."

Cera gives him a smile - and he makes himself stop thinking about how dazzling that smile is this close, a near-impossible feat - and says "They'd have never let me come back, Aloth. We wouldn't be gone for too long, and we'd just go to visit your mother. I'm going to assume she doesn't visit your father much since you left, so we'd likely just have to go to her Thayn's place, right?"

 _Now you seem set on going back to the continent you left._ "Cera, you don't have to-"

"No, I want to. Aloth, you followed me all over the Dyrwood on a wild-goose-chase for a guy who was literally the most secretive and mysterious person in all of Eora. A trip to Aedyr doesn't seem all that hard, you know."

Before he can protest that _he chose to follow her, she doesn't need to make it up to him, she's just being stubborn about this like certain other things_ , she smiles and says "Besides, I've yet to meet either of your parents and you've had the oh-so-unique experience of meeting both of mine."

Translation: I'm meeting your mother, no matter what you say to try and keep it from happening.

* * *

 **AN: Hey, everyone! I know, light and fluffy - but, hey, Thaos is dead, we're past the ending of the game, and I figured Aloth might actually want to tell his mother that he's in love with someone. His father, not a chance - his mother, who he actually did visit by the time PoE2 rolls around, absolutely. And yeah, I've been saving that ring from the White March for _exactly_ this. Enjoy! One more chapter left! **

**PS...I hate lab reports. With a passion.**


	39. Chapter 38

Aloth's not sure whether he should be happy, nervous, or just really confused about the fact that Cera insisted on meeting his mother - she said she wanted to learn her secret for how he turned out so amazing, as she had no ideas from her own parents. She must've known that would make him blush and stammer long enough for her to slip away to the Steward and ask if everything would be alright without her being around for about a month or so. And, fortunately or unfortunately, the answer was yes.

He's pulled out of his thoughts by a wave of nervousness from Cera - she's back on the continent she left and never meant to return to, of course she'd be nervous. Aloth leans over from the other side of the small wagon they're sitting in, and asks "Something wrong, Cera?"

"It's so weird to be back in Aedyr. And I'm halfway wondering what story my parents made up for why I didn't return with them. Like, are they saying I'm dead? Died during my travels and couldn't be found? Or did they finally give up and have another kid?"

Aloth raises an eyebrow, and asks "You think you might have a younger sibling?"

"Maybe. I feel bad for the kid if I do. But, who knows, maybe that kid won't sprout psychic powers and see past the glamorous surface of my old life."

One corner of Aloth's mouth twitches up, and he says "I'd say your new life is fairly glamorous, you know."

Cera gets a grin on her face, and says "It has its benefits. Such as a certain wizard I know who knows what it's like to be different from everybody else. And to have to hide that difference no matter what." She then turns bright red, hearing what he's thinking and not really wanting to block it out.

She fidgets with the hem of her Aedyran outfit, which she bought upon realizing _just how hot Aedyr really is_ \- it's been a few years since she was back, and she could immediately tell. Mainly because she was nearly cooking in her traveling clothes from the Dyrwood. So, after finding the nearest shop that had clothes to sell, she bought one of the sleeveless, brightly colored outfits there. And then she had to give Aloth's mind a small jolt to shake him out of staring dumbfoundedly at her. "So, are we near your mother's Thayn's place?"

Aloth blinks, looks out the window, and says "Yes, almost. As you said, its odd being back in Aedyr after so long. After everything that happened. I'm still amazed you could take off like this though, what with Caed Nua and all."

Cera shrugs, and says "We were gone more often than not chasing down Thaos. According to the Steward, she can follow the Master's will. And the Master's will is that things run smoothly in the Keep."

Aloth chuckles, and says "You are full of surprises. Watcher or not."

They hear the driver say "Alright, we've arrived! Thank you for riding!"

When they get out, they see that they're standing in front of a castle - one that, even from here, feels busy. A million different thoughts, right along with the people thinking them - good thing Cera's become an expert at navigating crowded, noisy places while being bombarded by the thoughts of everyone around her. And it's an even better thing that she can shut out a good part of those thoughts, if not all of them.

When they get inside, Aloth's pointed to the room his mother is currently in - he came here a few times with his mother over the years, so now the guards know him and such. When they get inside, Cera hears a warm voice say "Aloth! You're here! I- well, I wasn't expecting this at all! What a wonderful surprise!"

She's on the other side of the doorway, giving the two some time - and feeling slightly overwhelmed by what she's feeling from who she assumes is Aloth's mother. Which is…only everything she ever wanted to feel from her own mother, but never did. Compassion, worry, understanding…love. Now she truly envies Aloth, wishing her mother felt _any_ of those things for her.

 _Pull yourself together, Cera! You're here to meet his mother, after all!_

Before she can think or feel anything else, she hears "Actually, mother, there is another reason why I'm back. And I think you'll like it. And her."

"Her? You mean…? You found…? Does she know…?"

"Yes, yes, and yes, Mother. Cera said she'd give us a minute." Cera hastily wipes at her eyes, which she only now realizes are wet, just as Aloth's head appears from around the doorway. "Cera…what's wrong?"

She shakes her head, a smile coming to her lips, and says "Nothing's wrong, Aloth. Nothing at all." _Just wishing I had a mother half as amazing as yours._

When he pulls her in, she sees a woman with hair the same shade as Aloth's and the same color eyes. "Oh! Aloth, she's lovely! My apologies, Cera, is it? Or should I call you Cera…?"

Cera smiles, and says "Just Cera, please. And, thank you."

Her smile grows even bigger, waves of joy rolling off her like the tide. "Would you like anything? Water, tea, food? Where are you from? Where'd you meet Aloth?"

Aloth turns slightly red, saying "Slow down, Mother! One question at a time! And I'm alright. Cera?"

She laughs, slightly embarrassed, and says "Yes, of course."

Cera says "I'm fine, thank you. I was born here in Aedyr, but I've been traveling as of late. I met Aloth in the Dyrwood, and things…happened from there, I guess you could say."

Aloth holds back a chuckle - that's definitely _one_ way to put it, along with making it all sound much safer than it ever was. _T_

 _hings happened…does she know about Iselmyr?_ "So, ah…"

Cera gives the older woman a smile, and says "Lady Corfiser, is it? Not to be rude, or alarming, but I happen to have a few secrets of my own. Say, hearing other people's thoughts and feeling their feelings like they're my own. Yes, I know about Iselmyr. Like Aloth knows about my Cipher powers." At first, Cera feels only shock from the woman…until relief blooms underneath it all.

"You have Cipher powers?"

Cera nods, and says "I was born with them, and they showed themselves when I was young. I try to stay out of people's heads, but…you can't stop hearing what people are saying. It's the same with thoughts for me."

 _So…you know what it's like to be different, then._ Cera nods her head, and then Aloth's mother actually starts crying.

Cera steps out of the room to give Aloth and his mother some time alone. And, only a little, to try and clear her head of the torrent of emotions bombarding her from Aloth's mother. Relief, joy almost to bursting, compassion, etc. And right now, Cera feels like she could either explode from them or very well start crying right next to the older woman.

* * *

Aloth sits down next to his mother once the door closes behind Cera, who mumbled an excuse to leave almost as soon as his mother started crying. She throws her arms around his neck, crying into his cloak. "Mother, what's wrong?"

She gets out a tearful laugh, saying "Nothing's _wrong_ , Aloth! I'm so happy for you! A mother always knows when her child is happy, and I can tell your happy with her!" She breaks down crying again, so Aloth offers her the edge of his cloak.

Once she's finally gotten control of her tears, she asks "What's she like? Cera, I mean. How'd you meet? And how did you find out about her powers and how'd she learn of Iselmyr?"

Aloth blushes, and says "She's wonderful, mother. She has Cipher powers, but tries to stay out of people's heads as much as possible - respecting their privacy, and all. She's nothing like Father, wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was trying to harm her first - and she's very good with a crossbow." They both chuckle, and then he says "We met in Gilded Vale, outside the inn. Iselmyr had gotten me into trouble. Again. And then Cera shows up out of nowhere and saves me from a fight."

"With her powers?"

"With her powers. She put them into a trance-like state and then sent them home to sleep their hangovers off and remember none of what had happened."

"They were drunk?! Were you drunk as well?"

"Me? No. But Iselmyr had said something that got them highly offended - and they were as drunk as it gets, swaying on their feet already."

"And then Cera saved you."

"Yes. I later asked about her powers, and after a minute she answered me - in all likelihood, because I'd seen her use them so openly and expressed interest instead of fear."

His mother gets a knowing smile, and says "I'd say that would help. Now, onto Iselmyr's discovery." Her look turns serious, and she asks "How did she learn of your Awakened Soul?"

"I told her, mother. She knows what it's like to be different. And the fact that she likely heard something Iselmyr said to the drunks outside the inn. She reacted better than I ever imagined though, was actually hurt that I _hadn't_ told her. That I thought she'd suddenly see me as dangerous or something. Which I thought she might."

His mother looks at him and says "You're one lucky elf, you know that, son? I can't believe you found someone who…"

"Neither could I, at first. Kept thinking she only saw me as a friend. Despite what everyone else was saying, Iselmyr included somehow."

His mother chuckles, and asks "So, if you don't mind me asking, who is Cera anyway? She seems like a lovely young elf, but…"

"But you'd like to know her last name." Aloth saw that coming, and knew Cera would likely leave her family anonymous if at all possible.

"Yes, something like that. Because I saw that ring on her finger, son."

"Cera doesn't get along with her parents much, Mother. Which would be why she was traveling."

"Ah, I see. But…?"

"Iden. Her name is Cera Iden."

The utterly dumbstruck look on his mother's face would be hysterically funny if it were about anything else. "She's…your… _Iden?!_ As in the Iden family, Iden?!"

"Yes, one of the things she was rather non-forthcoming about at first. Such as me and Iselmyr."

"I'd heard she'd gone missing…all of Aedyr was talking about it for months."

"She didn't want to be controlled by her parents, get stuck in a marriage she didn't want to some noble she didn't even like. So, she left. Traveled Eora for some time before ending up in the Dyrwood. And then, we met by chance and things happened from there." Aloth can guess she's wondering at the chances of meeting the missing heir to the Iden fortune in a place like the Dyrwood - if she only knew the chances of having Cera's soul, she'd be even more in shock.

"So…will you two be staying in Aedyr? Or are you going to keep traveling the world for a bit?"

Aloth shakes his head and says "Sadly, no. Cera inherited a keep from its previous master back in the Dyrwood, and we can't leave it indefinitely."

They hear some familiar laughter echo through the window, and both elves look outside to see Cera surrounded by about six puppies that will be trained to be hunting dogs. And she's playing with them, petting them, and getting covered in puppy kisses. Aloth's mother whispers "She's a good person, Aloth. In general, and to spend the rest of your life with. I'm so proud of you, son. And so, so happy for you."

* * *

 **AN: Alright, the end! Thanks to MLK day, I've got a break from homework and lab reports - so, here's the final chapter! Hope you all enjoyed this story, I know I did! Any other suggestions for story ideas are more than welcome!**

 **PS. Got an idea for some Guild Wars 2 stories, more to be posted - hooray! Based on my own characters. Unfortunately, nothing I can start and even hope to update regularly during this semester, sorry! All my electives got gated behind Bio 2 and Lab, so I'm taking three science lectures and their labs.**


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